South Shields teen strangled and sexually assaulted woman after being denied sex doll

Caleb Gleadow, then 16, escaped from his supervisors and pounced on a woman while armed with a brick at the Derwent Walk beauty spot in County Durham, to "prove a point" to the council about what he wanted.

Newcastle Crown Court heard he approached the lone victim, in her 20s, and asked her for sex before he pushed her to the ground, got on top of her, strangled her until she struggled to breathe and hit her across the face.

The woman, who thought she would die if she didn't surrender to his request, managed to fight him off but was roughly sexually assaulted.

The teen later admitted his victim had been "in the wrong place at the wrong time" and confessed: "She took the brunt of my rage for nothing."

Gleadow, now 18, formerly of South Shields, South Tyneside, pleaded guilty sexual assault and intentional strangulation.

Judge Sarah Mallett said Gleadow had been "annoyed at the refusal of staff to allow him to have a sex doll" and wanted to "prove a point", "to prove to the council what I need".

The court heard Gleadow had been put into local authority care in 2020 due to his behaviour and last year was made the subject of a secure accommodation order.

In July 2022 the youth, who needed constant supervision, was out with two key workers but managed to slip away and run off.

The police were informed he had gone missing and Gleadow headed to the Derwent Walk, where he initially approached a woman having a picnic with her child before he spotted his victim.

Gleadlow ran to catch up with her, told her he was lost and had been in a fight.

Dr Chris Wood, prosecuting, said: "During the conversation he kept staring at her breasts and made her feel uncomfortable.

"He went behind her and had a brick and threatened her. He said 'have sex with me' and pushed her to the ground, causing her to land on a bramble bush and scratchy area of ground.

"He got on top of her and strangled her, using his body weight as leverage. She said this happened for what she thought was two or three minutes and she struggled to breathe and begged him to stop.

"She believed she was going to die if she didn't have sex with him."

The court heard the woman asked what what she had done to him and he hit her across the face with both hands.

The woman fought back, shouted at him to get off her and at one point she managed to get up and run away but ended up back on the ground.

Gleadow then reached inside her bra and sexually assaulted her.

The court heard he kept saying 'just have sex with me' and pulled his pants down slightly before he appeared to panic and told her he had mental health issues.

She was left injured and in pain.

In a victim impact statement, she said: "I thought something like this would never happen to me. Clearly something is wrong with him to think he can do that to someone. I think he might need support to help him."

Gleadlow also admitted arson and criminal damage charges from August 2022 relating to a fire and damage he caused at supported accommodation where he was living.

Judge Mallett sentenced him to a total of 30 months behind bars and said he must abide by a sexual harm prevention order and sign the sex offenders register for five years.

Tony Cornberg, defending, said Gleadlow has autism and added: "He has had the sort of upbringing no one would envy. He presents as articulate and introspective.

"He wants her to know he is sorry and would never do that to anyone again. He says people who hit woman repulse him.

"He said 'she took the brunt of my rage for nothing and deserves to know I'm sorry'."

Mr Cornberg said Gleadlow had been threatened and attacked in custody and has written to King Charles over his interest in climate change matters while also learning musical instruments.