A drunk woman who sexually assaulted a man at a fancy riverside restaurant while he was celebrating his 40th wedding anniversary with his wife has been spared jail.
Samantha Williamson ‘acted like a woman possessed’ after her advances were firmly rejected at the Captain’s Club Hotel & Spa, in Christchurch, Dorset.
The 44-year-old staggered from the bar to a table where the couple were enjoying a quiet meal to mark their wedding milestone and celebrate the husband getting the all-clear from cancer.
She then sat on the man’s lap and told him: ‘I want to sit on your big bamboo.’
Outraged by Ms Williamson’s brazen behaviour, the shocked diner immediately pushed her off before his wife told her to ‘f*** off’.
The blonde mother of two then swiped the drinks and a candle off the table, causing them to spill over the victim’s wife.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, stood up and pushed Williamson away, causing them both to tumble to the floor.
Furious at the rejection, she then spat at him and scratched him, drawing blood.
The ‘unpleasant’ incident happened at the AA Rosette hotel on the banks of the River Stour in Christchurch, Dorset.
Samantha Williamson (pictured), who sexually assaulted a man at a fancy riverside restaurant while he was celebrating his 40th wedding anniversary with his wife, has been spared jail
Samantha Williamson staggered across to the couple’s table at the Captain’s Club Hotel & Spa in Christchurch, Dorset
It left the couple traumatised and ruined their £1,200 weekend trip to the coast.
The victim claimed that when police were called to the venue they took Williamson home instead of arresting her for assault and sexual assault.
He said if she had been a man she would have been taken to the police station and locked in the cells.
A court heard the couple had travelled to Dorset on June 15 last year to mark their 40th anniversary and to celebrate the victim getting the all-clear from cancer.
They were having a celebratory meal at the Captain’s Club’s award-winning restaurant, when they became aware of Williamson.
She had become progressively drunk over the evening, argued with a man at the bar and began swearing and being abusive to other customers.
The victim said before the incident happened they had tried to help her and offered to get her a taxi home which she refused.
Victoria Hill, prosecuting, told magistrates in Poole: ‘Just before 10.30pm they were sitting at a table near the bar when the defendant walked past and stumbled into him. She went to the bar then appeared back at his table.
Williamson (pictured outside court) ‘acted like a woman possessed’ and spat at the man and scratched him, drawing blood
‘She sat on his lap, pushing herself onto him and said “I want to sit on your big bamboo”. He immediately pushed her away.
‘He hadn’t previously met her and certainly didn’t want her sitting on his lap. She began pointing and being abusive.
‘His wife said “why don’t you f*** off?” The defendant then swiped the drinks and a candle on the table, causing them to go all over [his wife].
‘He stood up and took hold of her in an attempt to move her away from [his wife]. They fell to the floor because the defendant was in drink. He said she was behaving like she was possessed.
‘She then spat at him, with spittle landing on his face, and scratched him, drawing blood.’
Reading a victim impact statement from him, she added: ‘This incident was very traumatising for myself and my wife.
‘We went for a nice break and what happened we will never forget and still talk about it today.
‘I don’t understand how offering a lady some help could go so wrong. Getting covered in drink and broken glass was not how we expected our night to end.
‘I had received the all-clear for my cancer and thought it was a great way to celebrate my news and 40 years together. Instead we were met with a drunk, aggressive, very vicious young lady through no fault of our own.
‘Our time there was very expensive and we will never go back to that area again because it would be very traumatic.’
Williamson, of Avon Terrace, Salisbury, admitted one offence of sexual assault.
James Moore, defending, said her client felt ‘pure regret’ and ’embarrassment’ over the ‘very unpleasant’ incident.
He said she had got very drunk when her partner said they were going to relocate and she did not handle the news well.
Mr Moore said: ‘This was very unfortunate, she feels pure regret, genuine remorse and pure embarrassment.
‘She was someone distressed, obviously intoxicated and needs help and unfortunately she has carried that over onto people she doesn’t know.
‘Her partner decides they are going to relocate and she doesn’t handle that and drinks to excess.’
Mr Moore said Williamson was a vulnerable woman, having fled an abusive relationship in America and returning to the UK without her teenage son.
He added: ‘Alcohol is her kryptonite.
‘She has seen the GP and undertaken counselling. She has now potentially ruined her life, she has got a conviction, she is battling day-to-day mental health issues and not being with her children.’
District Judge Paul Booty said: ‘I had no idea what possessed you. It started off badly enough with you placing yourself on the lap of somebody and talking about a bamboo.
‘If that wasn’t bad enough, it develops into a bit of a scuffle where you were spitting.
‘This was a gentleman out with his wife trying to celebrate their anniversary and dealing with a nasty illness. Taking everything into account this is serious enough for a community penalty.’
Judge Booty gave her a six-month community order with a tag-monitored curfew between 8pm and 6am and ordered her to pay £1,000 compensation to the victim.
Speaking after the hearing, the victim said he is considering a private prosecution for the assault that occurred after the sexual assault.
He said: ‘My wife tried to help and make sure she got home safe. She was arguing with some guy at the bar.
‘I thought the staff would get her out but they let it go on for another two hours. She was shouting ‘c***’ and ‘f*** off’ but to no one.
‘She started grinding on me and then swiped broken glass in my wife’s hair.
‘It was very traumatising, I paid out £1,200 for the weekend, we were celebrating 40 years together and that the previous month I had been given the all clear. We wouldn’t come back again because of this.
‘It’s a shame. I would have rather she was prosecuted for the assault than the sexual assault. The police told me too much time had passed. I think I’m going to take a private prosecution.
‘When she finally left and the police arrived they took her home. If that had been me, I would have been in the cells overnight.’
