FORMER Whitehaven captain Dion Aiye has been put on the Sex Offenders’ Register after he sexually assaulted a woman outside a bar in the town centre.
The News and Star has revealed that the woman, 37, was waiting outside a Whitehaven bar with a friend at 1am on May 26, when Aiye reached around her body from behind.
He sexually assaulted her over her clothing. She immediately pushed him away, telling him to get off her, said prosecutor Gerard Rogerson.
“The defendant was readily identifiable because he was wearing a pink cowboy’s hat,” said Mr Rogerson.
Marion Weir, who was defending, said: “From his point of view, it was a stupid decision taken in drink, which he bitterly regrets.
“It has had a significant impact on him as well. Clearly, he appreciates the impact on the victim. He is no longer playing at Whitehaven Rugby League Club and his contract there is no longer in place.
“The future career he would have had in rugby league is in peril and he knows Your Honour’s primary concern will be that he was already subjected to a court order…. He has taken on board that some of his behaviour needs to change.”
In March of this year, Aiye was given an eight-match suspension by former club Whitehaven, fined and removed as captain following a tribunal after the PNG playmaker admitted assault and harassment charges at Preston Crown Court.
He was given an 18-month community order at the time, with the court also imposing a five-year restraining order banning him from contact with his victim or daughter.
Judge Michael Fanning told Aiye: “It’s a concern that within two months of being sentenced for those offences, you are at a night club where you simply presume you can touch up a young female because you have a sense of entitlement.
“Nobody in their right mind would presume that is something they are entitled to do. She pushed you away and said: ‘What the hell are you doing?’
“Not surprisingly, she was very upset by what you did and nervous about going to nightclubs again. It must be down to a sense of entitlement.
“I don’t know whether it’s because you’re a sportsman, or because you were in drink. Either way, you know it’s wrong.”
Aiye will be on the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years.
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