A Helsby man has been ordered to register as a sex offender after being found guilty of assaulting a nurse during a routine flu vaccination appointment.
Clifford Hayes, of Parkfield Drive, received an 18-month community order as well as being ordered to register as a sex offender during a sentencing hearing at Chester Magistrates Court on Friday (April 4), following the incident on October 29 last year.
During Hayes’ trial on March 11, the victim – who cannot be named for legal reasons – told the court the 69-year-old had said to her ‘come here and give us a kiss’ after she had administered the vaccine.
He then proceeded to squeeze her right breast and shake it up and down.
Hayes claimed he had fainted due to a needle phobia and couldn’t recall touching the victim.
At his trial in March, the court heard that Hayes attended a medical centre with his wife for their annual flu jabs and that the couple went into the nurse’s room separately, with Hayes going in second.
The victim told the court: “He came close to me and kissed me on the cheek and at that point he grabbed my right breast and squeezed it very hard and shook it up and down.
“I couldn’t speak. I was shocked. It felt dreadful.”
The victim said the incident has impacted on how she feels about her work now. It has made me not feel the same about patients any more. It’s made me look at people in a different light.”
Hayes claimed his needle phobia had been ‘a problem for a long time’ and that he had told the nurse and doctors at the practice in the past.
Hayes said he felt ‘giddy and dizzy’ when he stood up after receiving the flu jab and ‘stumbled forwards’.
Hayes was also issued with a two-year restraining order requiring him to refrain from contact with the victim and an electronic curfew for eight weeks between the hours of 8am and 8pm.
He was ordered to pay £620 in costs, £250 in compensation to the victim and a £60 victim surcharge.
