A 46-year-old Chester man who sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman while she slept at a birthday party in Blacon—and admitted intentional suffocation in an unrelated violent incident—has been sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment at Chester Crown Court.
Gareth Griffiths, aged 46 and residing at Wordsworth Crescent, Chester, appeared in the dock for sentence at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday 6 May 2026 following a Cheshire Constabulary investigation.
Griffiths had previously been found guilty following a Crown Court trial of sexual assault and two counts of assault by penetration, in addition to having entered earlier guilty pleas to intentional suffocation and two counts of assault in connection with an unrelated matter.
The court heard that in November 2023, Griffiths attended a birthday party at a residential address in Blacon, Chester. During the course of the evening, Griffiths began making sexual comments towards the 18-year-old female victim and touched her inappropriately. Later that night, after the teenager fell asleep at the property, she awoke to discover Griffiths sexually assaulting her.
The survivor reported the attack to Cheshire Constabulary the following day, leading detectives to arrest and charge Griffiths.
Under the provisions of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, the female survivor in this case is protected by mandatory, lifelong statutory anonymity from the moment an allegation is made. Any publication, broadcast, or public dissemination of information capable of leading to her identification is strictly prohibited under UK law.
Sentencing Griffiths at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday 6 May 2026, the presiding judge imposed an immediate custodial term of nine years’ imprisonment, made him subject to a 15-year restraining order, and ordered him to sign the Sex Offenders Register.
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