A University of Exeter student has been jailed for sexually assaulting another student. Vadim Evseev admitted assault by penetration and was jailed for a year at Exeter Crown Court.
Judge Graham Cottle told Evseev in summary:
“This young girl was aware of someone following her and was intimidated. She is now more anxious when she is out in the evening and has contacted a sexual assault referral centre.
One aspect of your internet usage was very relevant to this incident and they type of sexual attack you carried out. You had material on your phone of an activity known as sharking.
There is no alternative to custody for a case as serious as this. It would be a source of public outrage if there was not immediate custody.”
Evseev was caught on CCTV following the 18 year old student as she walked home from a club to her halls of residence before sexually assaulting her. The attack was carried out after he got drunk two weeks before Christmas because he could not return home for the break. He also did not know the victim.
Mr Joss Ticehurst, the prosecutor, said the attack took place at around 2 am on December 11 last year. Bank records and CCTV records helped the police identify Evseev who ran away after the attack. He had also watched videos of ‘sharking’ on the internet which showed almost identical attacks to the one he carried out.
Miss Mary McCarthy, defending, said the incident had ended Evseev’s hopes of completing his degree and he was liable to be called up for a year in the army when he returns to Russia. She also said he was so drunk he had no memory of the attack and suggested the videos he had watched on the phone may have played some role.
She said:”It is possible that in drink, subliminally, they caused him to act in this way.”
Evseev has been suspended by the university and is likely to return to Russia where he is likely to face a year’s conscription in the army.
