Nurse from Reading jailed for 'abhorrent attack' on pensioner
Steven Hicks assaulted the 85-year-old woman in her own home
Last updated 25th Jan 2024
An NHS nurse has been jailed after he was found guilty of sexual assault in Reading.
Steven Hicks, aged 60, of Quentin Road, Woodley, was found guilty of sexual assault by touching in a trial lasting nine days at Reading Crown Court, which concluded on Friday (19/1).
Returning to the same court for sentencing (25/1), Hicks was jailed for a total of four-and-a-half years.
The offence occurred on 5 January 2022 in Earley.
In January 2022, the victim, an elderly woman, was receiving at-home care following a fall.
Whilst receiving care, on the 5 January, Hicks, a registered nurse from the NHS Rapid Response team, conducted an un-scheduled visit to the victim’s property, entered her home under the guise of working from the orthopaedic department and sexually assaulted her.
The Trial
The court heard how the 60-year-old, from Woodley, Reading, told the victim he was from the Royal Berkshire orthopaedic unit and, while claiming to check her mobility, pressed his face against her.
They were in her bedroom at the time, the CPS said.
The pensioner, who is now 87 years old and cannot be named for legal reasons, received home visits from hospital staff having suffered fractures from a fall on December 21 2021.
However, she reportedly cancelled all evening hospital home checks the day before Hicks arrived, unscheduled, and sexually assaulted her.
When the nurse pressed his face against her, the court heard she asked him: “What on earth are you doing?”
She then pushed him away and asked for his identity card, which he did not provide, before he left.
The woman called relatives to inform them and they reported the incident to police.
Officers reportedly arrived within 15 to 20 minutes of the incident.
In body-worn camera footage of the woman talking to police in her home, she told officers the assailant apologised after she pushed him away and told her he “got carried away”.
During her video-recorded evidence, the woman said there had been no discussion about “anything intimate” happening.
In September, eight months after the incident, forensics confirmed Hicks’s DNA matched samples found on the woman and on the waistband of the leggings she was wearing the day of the assault, Thames Valley Police said, adding he was arrested shortly after.
Specialist investigator on the case Philippa Sharman said phone data placed him in the vicinity of the pensioner’s home at the time of the offence.
Moreover, the CPS said the woman’s account of the assault was detailed and footage from her video doorbell confirmed someone was at her house that evening.
It said Hicks also accessed the woman’s medical records multiple times while she was receiving home visits, often when he was on annual leave and without reason to check them, and including on the day he assaulted her.
CPS lawyer Shilpa Shah said:
“This was a shocking crime carried out by someone in a trusted profession.
“Steven Hicks knew the victim was vulnerable and that no other carers were due to visit her that evening, and he used his position to gain access to her home to assault her, in her own bedroom.
“Hicks denied the charges against him, but we were able to present evidence to the court clearly linking him to the assault.
“His DNA matched that found on the victim and her clothing, and his phone data placed him near her home at the time of the offence. He will now spend time in prison for his crime.”
Specialist Investigator Philippa Sharman, based at Loddon Valley Police Station, said:
“I am pleased that Hicks has been sentenced to prison for this offence.
“This was an abhorrent attack on an elderly woman in her own home.
“I would like to pay tribute to Hick’s victim, who put her trust in our investigation to bring him to justice.
“She showed such bravery and such courage to report the offences and patience while we investigated and held Hicks to account.
“We will always investigate offences of this nature with utmost integrity and support victims throughout.
“We will listen, investigate appropriately and help victims to access any support services tailored to their needs.
“Thames Valley Police is relentless in its pursuit and disruption of perpetrators of violence against women and girls.
“If you are a victim, or suspect someone is a victim of crime, please contact the force. We have specialist trained officers who will listen and support you.
“You can contact us via our website, by calling 101, or by visiting a police station.”