Man sentenced after admitting sex offences on bus

Graeme Hicks was drunk when he committed the string of offences in Braintree

A man who was drunk when he sexually assaulted a teenage girl and a woman on a bus before spitting in the face of a police officer has been jailed.

Graeme Hicks, 33, of Old Chapel Drive in Stanway, near Colchester, has been sentenced to five years and seven months after he admitted sexual assault, indecent exposure, three counts of assaulting an emergency worker, and possession of cannabis.

Det Con Katie George said: "Intoxicated or not, his actions towards strangers – one of whom was a lone teenage girl – were deplorable and sexually motivated."

Hicks was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on 1 August.

Hicks was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court

Essex Police was called to Coggeshall Road, Braintree, on 27 December after receiving reports of a drunk man on a bus.

Police said Hicks went on to expose himself, make unwanted sexual contact with a 17-year-old and a woman, and urinate on the bus.

He then kicked and punched another passenger and spat in an officer's face while resisting arrest.

The court heard the offences had left a profound effect on the sexual assault victims, who were now scared of using buses.

Hicks was further sentenced for drugs and weapons offences following an investigation linking him to the dealing of Class A and B substances.

In 2023, police searched Hicks's address in Stanway and seized items including evidence of cocaine and cannabis dealing and an air pistol.

After a previous offence, he had been banned from possessing firearms or ammunition for five years.