Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Wednesday 30th April 2025 at 11:45hrs
A 69-year-old man has been sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of engaging in a sexual act with a 19-year-old man with a mental disorder that impeded his ability to choose.
The incident occurred in the sauna at Hyndburn Leisure Centre in Accrington on January 16th, 2022.
Stephen Tate, of Gordon Street, Church, approached his victim in the sauna and, without any warning, performed a sexual act on him. The victim, who had severe learning difficulties, did not consent to the act.
The victim reported the incident to his father, who had arrived to collect him from the leisure centre and identified Tate to him. When the victim’s father told Tate to wait, he ignored him, got into his black BMW, and drove away. The father was able to note the vehicle’s registration number and subsequently reported the incident to the police.
Tate was arrested and later charged with engaging in sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice.
Following a trial at Preston Crown Court in December of last year, he was found guilty.
Returning to the same court yesterday, April 29th, Tate was handed a six-year jail sentence.
In addition to the prison term, he was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life and is now barred from working with children and vulnerable individuals.
The court also imposed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order on Tate, which prohibits him from entering any public sauna, steam room, or solarium.
In a poignant impact statement read to the court, the victim’s father detailed the profound and lasting impact of the crime on his son.
“Our son’s disability has delayed and severely suffered his recovery from this incident. We do not know how long this will take but the mental scars will stay with him for life. We cannot explain how this has truly impacted his mental wellbeing, confidence and self-esteem but this incident has certainly taken away his limited enjoyment in his life.”
He further added, “As parents, this one incident has damaged our vision and dreams of how we wanted our son to live his life, given his disabilities. He has been robbed of any opportunity to go to professional counselling as we think he feels ashamed or is too scared to communicate with new people.”
DC Vicky Heys of Lancashire Police commented on the sentencing, stating, “This was a despicable offence committed against a vulnerable young man who had no comprehension of what was happening to him. Tate exploited the victim’s vulnerabilities for his own sexual gratification.”
She continued, “Having committed this offence, he then forced the victim and his family to relive the ordeal by giving evidence during the trial. I welcome the sentence handed down to Tate today and hope it encourages other victims of sexual offences to contact the police, confident that you will be believed and that we will do everything in our powers to put the perpetrator before the courts.”
Lancashire Police are urging anyone who has been a victim of a sexual offence, or knows someone who has, to report it online via https://doitonline.lancashire.police.uk/ or by calling 101. In the event of a crime in progress, always dial 999.
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