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Thornford Park psychiatric patient sexually assaulted schoolgirl in Newbury Sainsbury’s store




A PSYCHIATRIC hospital patient attacked and sexually assaulted a schoolgirl while he was released for a day trip.

The horrific incident happened at a Sainsbury’s store in Newbury on Monday, June 24.

Thornford Park
Thornford Park

The attacker, 61-year-old Sharando Bruff, was a patient at Thornford Park, a medium secure hospital at Crookham Hill, Crookham Common.

During a trial at Reading Crown Court, Andrew Kerr, prosecuting, said Bruff had been on leave from the hospital, accompanied by two healthcare workers, when he attacked the girl.

The court heard the 14-year-old had been alone, waiting for her father to return from the toilet, when Bruff pounced.

Andrew Kerr, prosecuting, said: “[Bruff] was walking past the girl on his way out when he ran towards her and hit her.

“He rugby-tackled her and wrestled her to the ground, put both his hands up her skirt and squeezed her thighs."

He was pulled off and led away by the healthcare workers, the court heard.

Bruff was also on trial for a sexual assault on a fellow male patient at the hospital.

Mr Kerr told the jury Bruff was in the hospital's canteen on Saturday, June 8, when he threw himself at a male near to him, shoved his hand down the man's trousers and used his other hand to stop his victim resisting.

He added: “He grabbed his penis; it was deliberate.

“It was a hard grab and he did it for the simple reason that he wanted to sexually assault the complainant.”

The victim suffered scratches to his genitalia and face as a result of the attack, the court heard.

Bruff had denied two counts of sexual assault but on Wednesday, October 2, jurors convicted him on both counts.

He is due to be sentenced on Thursday, November 21.

Thornford Park hit the headlines after John Maguire, a medium-risk patient, escaped from the facility in July 2014.

Mr Maguire used bedsheets to scale the 5.2m perimeter fence and was located at Birmingham New Street rail station four days later.

Then, in 2016, residents were urged to trust security at the facility following reports that the notorious serial killer dubbed the Stockwell Strangler had been moved there.

Kenneth Erskine was jailed for a minimum of 40 years in 1988 after sexually molesting and killing seven pensioners in a terrifying spree.

In 2018 it was reported that rapist and child killer Peter Pickering, dubbed ‘the beast of Wombwell,’ had died at Thornford Park.



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