June 2022

Man given six-year sentence for sex assaults in Chichester and Waterlooville

A Portsmouth man has been sentenced to six years in prison having pleaded guilty to sexual offences against women that took place in Waterlooville and West Sussex.

Zackery Stephen Bell, 28, of South Avenue, Portsmouth, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court on Thursday (23 June) for sentence having previously pleaded guilty to sexual assault.

The court heard how on December 6 2020, Bell attended the address of the Waterlooville victim, who was in her 20s at the time of the offence and is now 30, in relation to an advert that had appeared on Facebook Marketplace.

​Once inside the address, Bell forcibly kissed the victim and touched her inappropriately over her clothing before he was disturbed and left the address. He then sent the victim a message via Facebook asking her to meet up again.

The incident was reported to police the next day and an investigation was launched, leading to the arrest of Bell. He was later charged with sexual assault.

While he was on bail from Hampshire Police for the sexual assaults, he went to stay with a woman known to him in Chichester. He was supposed to be staying on the sofa for the night, but in the early hours of that Boxing Day morning, he went into the bedroom of the victim whilst she was asleep and sexually assaulted her. This awoke the victim who shouted at him to leave.

Bell has now been sentenced to a total of six years in prison, four years for the Sussex offence and two for the Hampshire offence as well as being given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years, and a lifetime Restraining Order relating to both victims, and he will also be on the sex offender register for life.