Pirbright Man Found Guilty of Sexual Assault Gets Five Years

Published on: 19 Apr, 2013
Updated on: 23 Apr, 2013

Mark Scully sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment

A 37-year-old civil servant has been sentenced today at Guildford Crown Court to five years and four months imprisonment for a sexual assault against a 30-year-old woman in Woking.

Mark Scully of Gole Road, Pirbright was found guilty of one count of sexual assault by penetration at a previous hearing (Friday, March 22nd) by a jury of eight men and four women.

The offence took place in a wooded copse near Greenheys Place, Woking at around 12.30am on July 27th 2012.

The father-of-one, was on a train travelling from London Waterloo when he approached the victim, who was a passenger on the train, and offered to help her home after she missed her station.

Mark Scully was unknown to the victim and claimed to want to help her by getting her a taxi. She and Scully got off the train at Woking station. He led the woman to the scene of the crime where he sexually assaulted her and caused facial and neck injuries.

Detective Constable Tim Budd of the Surrey Police Sexual Offences Investigation Team said: “The outcome today demonstrates the defendant has been identified as a predatory sexual offender.

“His pre-meditated actions are those of a nightmare which became a reality for this victim and instead of being the knight in shining armour Scully had portrayed himself as, his actions were those of a violent offender. He has shown no remorse throughout the trial and his demeanour before the court has demonstrated his lack of humanity.

“This has been a lengthy, in-depth investigation involving many officers including specialists trained to work with victims of sexual offences, CID officers, members of the Safer Neighbourhood Team and colleagues from British Transport Police. I hope that today’s outcome will go some way to providing the victim with the strength to pick up the pieces of her life and put this traumatic experience aside.

“She is to be congratulated on her courage and fortitude in the manner in which she has supported the police investigation and I would encourage any alleged victim to come forward to Surrey Police and report any similar incidents.

“Surrey Police treats all allegations of rape and sexual assault extremely seriously. Our priority is victim care and people need to feel confident that if they come forward and report an offence we can help. We have a dedicated investigation team for such crime and the dedicated unit works to obtain best evidence. We also work closely with our partner agencies including the NHS with whom Surrey Police has a Sexual Assault Referral Centre.”