Man jailed for ‘appalling, nasty, disgusting’ attack on woman in car

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) welcomed the sentencing of 30-year-old Jonathon Michael Simpson for attempted robbery during an incident in Derry in January.

The defendant, was sentenced on Thursday, October 13, at Derry Crown Court, sitting in Coleraine.

Simpson will now serve a total of 18 months in custody, and the remainder of the sentence on licence.

Recounting Simpson’s offending police at Strand Road confirmed that at 3.10pm on Friday, January 21, 2022, they ‘received a report that a woman was sitting in her car when Simpson approached her vehicle, opened the driver’s side door where she sat and told her to get out before attempting to pull her from the vehicle’.

“Simpson also punched her and tried to take her mobile phone. The woman fought him off and he ran from the scene. Within 15 minutes, Response Team officers located Simpson on Bishop Street in the city centre and arrested him,” the PSNI said in a statement released on Friday.

Detective Sergeant Ballentine said: "This was an appalling attack. The victim was sitting in her car, minding her own business, when she was subjected a nasty and disgusting attack from out of nowhere.

"You can only imagine the fear she felt during the attack and the resulting trauma from what happened. She is recovering well after this horrible ordeal and I want to acknowledge her bravery throughout the course of our investigation.”

DS Ballentine said the apprehension of Simpson showed the importance of alerting the PSNI to any suspicious activity.

"Thank you also to the members of public who assisted with our investigation, and to our officers who responded quickly and arrested Simpson.

"I want to take this opportunity to reiterate the importance of calling police when you see something untoward happening because the faster we receive information, the faster we can act."

The number to call is 101 and, in an emergency, always 999.