EXCLUSIVE: Pervert who was banned from alcohol rather than jailed for sexually abusing a woman, calls on secretary of state to intervene after justice campaigners call sentence ‘offensive to all victims’
- Geoffrey Holland, 63, banned from alcohol after committing a sexual assault
- He escaped prison and only received a suspended sentence and a drug course
- Proponents of justice called punishment ‘ridiculous’ and sent the wrong message
- Netherlands carried out attack while already subject to Sex Harm Prevention Order
- The order strictly forbade him to have women in his house without police permission
- The SHPO was imposed on him after he had previously committed a sexual offense
A pervert who sexually assaulted a woman in his home finds himself at the center of a soft-justice scandal – after being banned from drinking alcohol as punishment.
Geoffrey Holland, 63, was put on a label that constantly monitors him to detect alcohol by taking measurements of his sweat.
But activists of the justice system reacted with disbelief to the ‘ridiculous’ sentence, which came after the Netherlands had sexually abused a woman.
One of them told MailOnline that the punishment was “offensive to all victims of sexual assault.”
Holland was already subject to a sexual injury prevention order forbidding him to have women in his Peterborough home without police permission.
The rare injunction was imposed on him after he had committed a previous offense.
Geoffrey Holland, 63, was banned from alcohol after committing a sexual assault on a woman
Proponents of justice said the Netherlands’ punishment was ‘ridiculous’ and sent the wrong message
But police rushed to his £120,000 home after a woman called a friend overnight to say he assaulted her on 4 May 2020.
They found Holland and the girl inside and arrested him, before charging him with assault.
On Wednesday, he was found guilty of the offense at the Peterborough Magistrates’ Court to a one-year suspended sentence.
The only real punishment he received was a ban on drinking alcohol, monitored 24/7 by a tag to make sure he sticks to it.
David Spencer, research director at the Center for Crime Prevention, told MailOnline: ‘This is clearly a ridiculous punishment that is offensive not only to the Dutch victim, but to all victims of sexual violence.
“The clear message from this sentence is that courts do not take these types of violations seriously, and I urge the Secretary of State for Justice to urgently review this case and also consider what changes need to be made so that judges are unable to to impose such lenient sentences for serious sexual offences.’
An alcohol monitoring label that can tell if the user is drinking by analyzing the sweat content
Boris Johnson held an alcohol monitoring tag in 2014, during the launch of the sobriety tag program for people who repeatedly commit alcohol-related crime
In the magistrates’ trial on Wednesday, the Netherlands was given a year in prison, suspended for two years and a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
He was also told to complete the Horizons drug program and be completely alcohol-free for 120 days.
At the time, PC Zoe Rogers had said in a press release: ‘When the judicial system decides on a suspended sentence, it is up to us in PPU to manage the sex offender and arrange things that minimize the risk they pose.
‘That is why the Netherlands has been banned from alcohol and has been ordered to complete the Horizons program for drug rehabilitation. We know that when he uses these substances, the risk he poses increases.
‘The tag monitors him 24/7 and detects alcohol by taking measurements of his sweat. If this is discovered, or if the tag is tampered with, he will violate the sentence and face trial again.”
Anyone concerned about someone who may have been convicted of a sex offense and could pose a risk can request disclosure information through Sarah’s Law.