Predator 'smiled' while assaulting young women walking to university, trial hears

An alleged predator 'smirked' and 'laughed' as he pounced on young women walking to school and university, jurors were told.

Prosecutors claim victims ran away 'terrified' from Robert Emmerson, 40, as he exposed himself to eight women and grabbed five from behind before sexually assaulting them. The court heard victims described Emmerson 'smiling' and 'enjoying himself' as he attacked the women in a 'bear hug' before pinning them to the ground and groping them.

Emmerson allegedly attacked most of his complainants in the underpass beneath the Mancunian Way as they walked to or back from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) during 'daylight hours'. He also allegedly exposed himself to two schoolgirls in the Wythenshawe area. Emmerson denies all charges.

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Opening the trial on Monday (October 14), prosecutor Emma Kehoe KC said that between November 2023 and April 2024 there were a number of 'linked' sexual offences committed in the underpass 'near the university'.

She told jurors how the allegations were brought to the attention of Greater Manchester Police by a series of victim reports which formed a 'pattern'.

"How the attacker would lie in wait on the path and how the attacker would masturbate or touch his genitals, or in some cases grabbing them [complainants] in a bear hug and pulling them to the floor with his penis up against them," she said. "In some cases he groped their vaginas through clothing."

Ms Kehoe told jurors how multiple victims described the male as 'laughing', 'smiling', and 'making noises to suggest he was enjoying himself' as they screamed while he 'pinned them down' or 'lifted them