Man Found Guilty of Attacking Three Women in Guildford

Published on: 1 Sep, 2016
Updated on: 16 Oct, 2023

A 24-year-old man from Lightwater who attacked three different women, during a single night, on the streets of Guildford, to have sex, has been found guilty of two counts of false imprisonment and two counts of committing an offence with intent to commit a relevant sexual offence.

During a five-day trial at Kingston Crown Court, the jury heard that Ross Henson of Lightwater Meadow, Lightwater attacked three women in Guildford town centre during the early hours of Saturday, February 13 (2016).

Prior to the attacks Henson had disclosed to a witness that he intended to rape a woman that night. He then proceeded to attack three lone women within quick succession in the town.

The first incident happened outside the Friary Centre at 4.50am but luckily the woman was able to escape his grasp and flee from the area.

Henson then attacked a second woman as she walked along Woodbridge Road outside the Magistrates Court. He dragged her to the floor, pinned her to the ground and attempted to cover her mouth. Two members of the public were walking past at the time which caused Henson to run from the scene.

The court heard that Henson then targeted a third woman along Guildford High Street at 8:50am. The victim was grabbed from behind and wrestled to the floor whilst attempting to open up a store. A female passer by came to the aid of the woman causing Henson to run away.

At the conclusion of the trial on Tuesday 30 August, the jury agreed that Ross Henson had committed these offences in order to subject the victims to a sexual offence but, fortunately, his attempts were interrupted by members of the public within the vicinity of the scene.

Commenting on the guilty verdict DC Tom Guiney of Surrey Police said: “The victims in this case have demonstrated great courage and bravery throughout this investigation and during the trial. As a result, a particularly dangerous individual has been convicted of a series of serious sexual offences and remains in custody prior to sentencing in October.”