A MAN grabbed a woman's throat before sexually assaulting her in the street when she refused to have sex with him.

Jamie Bicknell, 32, assaulted his unsuspecting victim as she walked along Stoke Road, Gosport. 

After using his arm to block her, he began making inappropriate comments and asked her for sex. 

But when she refused and tried to walk away, he grabbed her by the throat and hair before sexually assaulting her. 

He then sat at a bus stop and ate food, police said.

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The incident took place just moments after Bicknell of Gregson Avenue, Gosport, had been kicked out of a restaurant for being drunk. 

He was tracked down after CCTV footage showed him travelling from Gregson Avenue by bus to the town centre before walking to Stoke Road. 

A bus company also confirmed that he had struck up a conversation with a bus driver, disclosing his first name and mutual friends they had.

Bicknell was arrested but denied sexual assault. 

Following a failed trial on March 14, 2022, a re-trial almost a year later delivered a unanimous guilty verdict at Portsmouth Crown Court. 

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Appearing at the same court today, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. 

He is also now subject to an indefinite restraining order and sex offender notification requirements.

Police Staff Investigator Sophie Close said: “Reporting sexual offences takes a huge amount of courage, and the victim in this case has shown such bravery by coming forward and working with police to bring Bicknell to justice.

“This attack was understandably terrifying for her. Bicknell’s actions were appalling and disgusting, and behaviour of this kind will never be tolerated.

“Our officers work hard to identify perpetrators of this type of behaviour, and we want to encourage anyone who has been affected, or ever witnesses someone behaving in this way to please report it to police.”