A woman who drunkenly groped a man has been spared jail despite the victim urging she be tried like a man.

Mum-of-six Jemma Whiteside, 40, sexually assaulted the man at Everton’s game against Manchester City at Goodison Park, Liverpool, on February 26.

A court heard how she grabbed the man’s genitals, ‘rubbed’ up against him and said: ‘I’m going to f**k him and I don’t even know his name.’

The ‘shocked and upset’ victim said in a police report: ‘It should not matter whether the assault was by a man or a woman, it should be treated the same.’

Whiteside faced up to a decade behind bars after Sefton magistrates court Whiteside found her guilty of sexual assault last month.

But she was sentenced to a nine-month community order, 15 days in a rehabilitation programme and fined £200, £400 in compensation, £200 in costs and a £95 surcharge.

The victim, in his 40s, said: ‘I was looking out towards the concourse when a female came up behind me, put her hand between my legs and grabbed hold of my testicles.

‘She then shouted, “I am going to f**k him later, and I don’t even know his name”.’

He described how she went up the stairs to ‘rub’ her bum on his shoulder before walking off.

‘Her speech was very slurred, she was unsteady on her feet and her eyes were glazed. I was under the impression that she was very drunk,’ the victim said.

He added: ‘I was shocked. I looked at a colleague and he looked at me and I said, “did that just happen?”‘

Whiteside told police she was feeling upbeat during the match and denied being drunk and said she felt ‘mortified’ for being arrested for sexual assault.

Police noted she said she ‘liked Scouse men’.

‘As a staunch city fan that is not something I can see myself saying,’ Whiteside told the hearing.

‘I wouldn’t even do this sort of thing to my boyfriend in public. Ask any Man City fan and they will wholeheartedly agree.

‘That is not something I would do. He has taken offence at me, he does not like me. I am a respectable mother and a respectable City fan. I would not behave in a way that would make me be less able to see Man City.’

Whitside said she ‘brushed’ against the victim as it was ‘crowded’.

Finding her guilty last month, District Judge James Clarke said: ‘The victim on this occasion said he felt contact – and it was quite an unusual and unexpected type of contact.’

‘Clearly the words, “I will have him later and I don’t even know his name”, is a curious thing for the victim to misinterpret or invent if that is what is suggested he did,’ Clarke added.

‘In drink, people can and often do things which are very out of character. I am sure the lady had been drinking during the course of the afternoon. ‘

Senior Crown Prosecutor Mike O’Kane said Whiteside’s ‘unprovoked and entirely unexpected’ attack caused ‘both upset and embarrassment’.

‘He further noted in his victim personal statement which was read at the sentencing hearing that “it should not matter whether the assault was by a man or a woman, it should be treated the same”,’ O’Kane added.

‘The Crown Prosecution Service would echo that. Men do fall victim to sexual assaults and are entitled to protection under the law.

‘The CPS works hard to fairly apply the law, irrespective of the gender of the suspect or victim, and to ensure that offending such as this is robustly prosecuted.

‘The victim in this matter was forced to attend trial and give evidence as Ms Whiteside refused to accept her culpability.’

One in 20 men have been raped or sexually assaulted as an adult according to Rape Crisis England and Wales.

What to do if you are a victim of sexual assault

Sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) offer medical, practical and emotional support to anyone who has been raped sexually assaulted or abused.

Other places you can get help include:

• a doctor or practice nurse at your GP surgery
• a voluntary organisation, such as Rape Crisis, Women’s Aid, Victim Support, The Survivors Trust or Male Survivors Partnership
• the 24-hour freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, on 0808 2000 247
• the Rape Crisis national freephone helpline on 0808 802 9999 (12 to 2.30pm and 7 to 9.30pm every day of the year)
• a hospital accident and emergency (A&E) department
• a genitourinary medicine (GUM) or sexual health clinic
• a contraceptive clinic
• a young people’s service
• call NHS 111 or get help from 111 online
• the police, or dial 101
• in an emergency, dial 999

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