ON AIR NOW:

North Lincolnshire restaurant owner branded ‘sexual predator’ in court

A restaurant owner was branded a “sexual predator” and jailed for six years after admitting four offences of sexual assault on women.

Chris Florides, 62, of High Street, Yaddlethorpe, Scunthorpe, admitted the offences, which were committed between April 2022 and August last year, when he appeared at Grimsby Crown Court. The court heard Florides was arrested and placed in custody for 25 days due to a discrepancy over his passport. He had left Cyprus in 1982.

He ran a North Lincolnshire restaurant for more than a decade, the court heard. Prosecuting, Craig Lowe told how a woman complained to police after she was touched on the bottom by Florides.

READ MORE:

He told the court that one of his victims told him she was a lesbian, in order to divert his aggressive sexual advances. A victim described him as “invasive and creepy,” said Mr Lowe. He gave detail of the charges some of which involved regular sexual touching and abusive comments.

In one of the victim impact statements read by Mr Lowe, she said she suffered nightmares and flashbacks. The sexual assaults had taken a deep impact on her mental health, the prosecutor told the court.

One told how she still wakes up in terror and had found starting new relationships a problem of whether to tell a boyfriend about what had happened to her. Another had hoped to pursue a career in the police force but feared the experience of sexual assault would impact on her need to be impartial when dealing with incidents.

Mr Lowe said that, during police interview, Florides told officers “nothing sexual ever occurred” and he denied the allegations.

For Florides, Katherine White said the offences had happened over specific time blocks during the 15 months and not constantly. She told how her client suffered from prostate cancer and had been isolated by his community when the sexual offences were known.

Join the FREE Grimsby Live WhatsApp Community

Get all the latest stories, sent straight to your WhatsApp – all you need to do is click the link.

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Sentencing the defendant, Judge Richard Woolfall said a victim had suffered severe psychological harm. “You have been labelled the sexual predator that you are,” he said.

He imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years and a ten-year restraining order not to contact the victims directly or indirectly using social media. He jailed Florides for a total of six years.

Later the judge thanked some of the victims for attending court to read their victim impact statements. He said he hoped the sentence would provide some comfort. “I know you will never get over it but hope you will learn to live with it. Thank you for coming and being so brave,” said judge Woolfall. He also thanked those who supported them and the counsel in court.

Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe

Scroll to Top