A TEENAGE girl who was the victim of a frightening sex offence in her own home is terrified that her attacker may soon be moving into a house just doors away when he is released from prison.
Daniel Oliver, 21, is serving a four month prison sentence for sexually touching the girl, who cannot be named, at her Southampton home last December.
He had already been jailed for three years for attempting to rape a woman in a garage in 2006 and was on licence from a young offenders’ institution when he carried out the latest offence on the young girl.
Oliver – who has been placed on the sex offenders’ register for life – pleaded guilty to kissing the girl on the lips and putting his hand near her breasts as he embraced her.
He is due for release on Christmas Eve and his young victim, now 15, fears he will be living in the same road as her.
Hampshire Police are aware of the situation and his latest victim’s mother said she is sickened that Oliver could be allowed to live so close by.
She said: “If he comes here, every day will be a constant reminder for me and my daughter of what he did to her. She’s already worried about what will happen and has lost a lot of confidence.
“We want to forget about it but all the time he’ll be just a few doors away. How can we move on?
“My daughter was so brave to report this and take it to Court but now she feels like she is being punished.”
The family have complained to police and the probation service but say the only option they have been given is to ask Oliver’s housing officer to request he lives elsewhere.
This is not the first time this has happened.
As reported in the Daily Echo just last year, Oliver was due to live just minutes away from the woman he attempted to rape in 2006 but her fears were not realised after she shared her story in the Daily Echo.
A solicitor for Oliver’s latest victim’s family said it is possible for victims to seek an injunction preventing an offender coming into contact with them but these are costly and best applied for immediately after an incident or following a long period of harassment.
“I’m furious that the police don’t seem to be able to do anything to stop this from happening,” said the victim’s mother who has collected 191 signatures in an online petition to stop him living nearby.
“It’s going to stir up a lot of anger in the community if he comes here. If the police won’t stop it to protect my daughter, they should stop it for his own safety.”
Oliver’s latest sex offence happened just three years after a jury at Southampton Crown Court had convicted him of attempted rape.
The court heard he had met a woman in a pub and offered to accompany her to get a taxi, but he bundled her into a garage and tried to rape her.
After the case his victim, now 43, told the Daily Echo: “I have been left with so much anger inside me that someone could do this.
“I’m too frightened to go out, I can’t go to my local shops or pubs. My home has become my prison cell.”
A Hampshire Police spokesman said: “Police in Southampton are aware of the situation this could bring about in this case if the offender and victim were to live near each other and this is being looked at by a number of agencies working together.
“As the release date at this stage is still some time away it is not known where he will be living yet.
“The limited provisions, covering where someone can live at the end of their sentence, are being explored to address the safety issues of all concerned.”
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