Groom jailed 7 years after pre-wedding attack - wife stands by him

7:00am Tuesday 21st April 2009
By Echo Reporter »

A DRUNKEN bridegroom-to-be who stalked a young mother through the streets of Bournemouth on his stag night before molesting her has been jailed for seven years.

Louis Palmer, 33, was captured on the town’s CCTV cameras walking behind the victim, who had become separated from her friends, through the shopping precinct in central Bournemouth.
Palmer of Delph Road, Brierley Hill, West Midlands, pounced on the woman, who cannot be named, when she reached a dimly lit area, grabbing her and pushing her over a wall before sexually assaulting her.

Palmer’s wife, who married him three weeks after the incident, burst into tears as the verdict was read out and other relatives looked stunned.

Earlier in the trial, prosecutor Susan Evans told the jury: “When she told him to stop, he punched her. The next thing she remembers is being on the floor and he was gone.”
Palmer was arrested after a detective who had viewed the video footage recognised him.

Palmer told officers he had been lost when he asked the woman for directions to the seafront and she suggested that he had “a last fling”.

Palmer said: “One minute we were fine and the next thing she was screaming and shouting. When women become hysterical it’s necessary to slap them sometimes.”

The victim told the court: “I was really worried about how drunk I was”, but added: “I knew I was being sexually assaulted.”

Palmer was found guilty of a sexual assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm over the incident, which happened in the early hours of July 5 last year.

Judge Roger Jarvis told Palmer:

“You obviously spotted her and stalked her in a predatory way. You violently assaulted her. This had a devastating effect on a woman who previously prided herself on her independence.”
Palmer was also put on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Speaking afterwards DS Phil Swanton of Bournemouth CID, paid tribute to the victim.
He added: “This was a despicable attack on a lone female. Mr Palmer stalked the victim for just under one mile before attacking her and is clearly a very dangerous sexual predator.”