Edward Snook, said to be a “respected fireman”, arrived at the teen’s home drunk at 4am before asking to stay over and climbing into her bed after claiming he needed to charge her phone
A “respected” fireman crept into a 17-year-old girl’s bed after a party, a court heard, as he was found guilty of sexually assaulting the teen.
Edward Snook, an engaged firefighter, arrived drunk at the girl’s home at 4am before asking if he could stay. The girl, who was just 17 at the time, handed him a pillow and blanket to stay on the sofa but went into her bedroom claiming he needed to charge his phone.
Snook, who was 31 at the time, proceeded to get into her bed and stroke her stomach before telling the teen: “You’re beautiful – 17 and 30 is not bad.” The girl quickly fled the room panic-stricken after he started to touch himself and was said to be “hyperventilating for 20 minutes”.
The dad-of-two stayed for another two hours before he eventually left at 6am and said: “Thank you for this, hopefully we can do this again.” He was reported to police when the girl told her family. Snook, now 33, was said to be a ‘respected’ fireman in the Knutsford area, working for the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, Manchester Evening News reports.
But he has since been suspended and is set to lose his job, Crewe Magistrates’ Court heard. Snook was found guilty of sexual assault following a trial. He will be sentenced next month and was warned he faced being locked up for six months under sentencing guidelines. He will also have to sign the sex offenders’ register.
Snook admitted going to the girl’s house in the hope of having sex with her but denied touching her or behaving sexually. Prosecutor Katy Johnson told the court how the incident happened after Snook had been at a party with his friends in Cheshire. He texted the girl and asked if he could stay over at her house, the court was told. In an interview with police, the girl – who cannot be named for legal reasons – said: “He asked me ‘can I crash on your sofa’ and I didn’t not want to say ‘no’.
“I said I would need to check with my housemate but was then like ‘I am outside’. I did not say he could stay but I went down to let him in and he came in and said ‘thanks for this’.
“He was really drunk and was sweating and said he had been at a party. I said ‘here is the living room’ and gave him a pillow and a blanket but I then remember being woken up by my door being opened. He walked in and said ‘can I borrow your charger?’ and ‘can I get on the bed?’. He then got onto the bed, got under the quilt and was looking at me. He started rubbing my stomach and said ‘you are just so beautiful’.”
The girl added: “He was basically saying that he wanted to cheat on his girlfriend with me. I said ‘no, I do not want to do that, I’m not that person, plus I am 17′ but he was rubbing my stomach and said ’17 and 30 is not bad’, I was like ‘yes it is’. Then I could feel something moving under the quilt and he was breathing very heavily the entire time. I then said ‘do you want some water?’ and he stopped.
“I remember going into the living room and having a panic attack. I was sat there for about half an hour. I was looking out of the window and did not know what to do. Do I wake up my housemate or scream and shout?
“I did not know what to do. Then I thought if I kept calm and make him feel uncomfortable he would go. I went back into my room and sat on the bed close to the door so that I was facing him. I asked ‘so what are you going to do today?’ then he looked at his phone and said ‘actually, I have got to go. I have lots to do I will walk home’.
“He said ‘thanks for everything’ and gave me a hug. He even said ‘hopefully we will do this again’ and I said ‘no sorry, probably not’. I could not sleep, it was horrible. You do not expect it. You do not expect someone in such a position as a fireman.”
The victim, who is now 19, added: “I made it very clear I did not want anything and when you are in that situation you do not know what is going to happen next, for 20 minutes I was hyperventilating and was like ‘what can I do?’ But I thought I would be calm and I will make him feel so uncomfortable that he wants to leave. If I could get him to leave on his own accord that would be so much better for me.
“I did not want to turn this into a big thing but I am now terrified of people that I trust. I feel bad about the whole situation as I did not want to go to the police. I do not want to ruin his family. I do not want to ruin his career. I know what he has done is bad but I am not that type of person.
“You cannot help but feel guilty. I was telling somebody about it and she said ‘you let him in the house and you were wearing boxers’. A lot of people view it in that way. That is part of the reason I did not want to say anything. You get a lot of judgement. He is a respected person around Knutsford.
“He is a firefighter and lots of people like him. They are not going to listen to me, a 17-year-old girl in boxers letting someone older come in their flat. It is hard.”
Giving evidence, Snook said: “I went around to her property after I had been drinking as I was asking to go around and stay there. I went around with the intention to see if there was a chance we could have a romantic relationship.
“When I arrived she offered me the sofa and she provided me with some bedding and afterwards I popped in to ask if I could charge my phone. I lay on her bed and charged my phone and obviously I talked to her. She was in her bed but I lay on top of the bed. I was drunk and I realise I should not have been in that situation.
“I left the property at about 5.30am and I thanked her. She gave me a hug and then I left. He added: “I have since been stood down from work. I am not allowed to go into the station. I got suspended.”
The prosecutor told the hearing: “It is clear he had an intention of sexual intercourse with the complainant that evening. He had been out drinking and attended her home with that intention.
“He lay on the sofa and then proceeded into her bedroom but due to her body language gathered that she was not going to engage in sexual activity. He claimed that he did not touch her but he was drunk and the complainant was sober. She clearly remembered he made reference to cheating on his partner. She advised that she was 17.
“She said ‘no’. Any reasonable person would consider touching her stomach being sexual, given the conversation that had taken place prior to the touching.”
Defending, Michelle Man said: “Mr Snook has been very frank. He is not here to be judged morally. He has admitted he has got a fiancée and his behaviour was morally wrong. But what he is also saying is that ‘I have not done anything that is a crime’.”
In convicting Snook, JP Denise Rankin said: “The victim was clear and consistent in interview and also in cross examination. She was sober at the time of the offence and she recognised you were attempting to initiate sexual contact.
“She clearly recalls your hands on her stomach twice and that you were sexually aroused. There was a change in her demeanour since the incident on that night. We reject your evidence. You were plainly drunk at the time.” (Mirror)
