Sebastien Daley forced young woman down dark CBD alleyway while holding her neck, court told

A man who grabbed the neck of a drunk young woman and forced her down a dark CBD alleyway has begged the court not to convict him.

A man “manhandled and dominated” a young, drunk woman, forcing her down a dark CBD alleyway – bruising both sides of her neck – in an “outrageous display of violence”, a court has heard.

Sebastien Daley, 35, followed the young, slightly built and “obviously intoxicated” woman, who was walking down Pirie St looking for a taxi early on Sunday, May 20, 2018.

He asked her about her sexual preferences before he was captured on CCTV kissing and groping the woman.

The woman then walked off, before Daley followed her, grabbed her around the neck and forced her down an alleyway at the side of 45 Pirie St, Adelaide.

In sentencing, District Court Judge Health Barklay said Daley had “behaved in an extremely violent way towards an intoxicated, vulnerable woman, who was, for all intents and purposes, a stranger to you”.

“You manhandled and dominated her down the breezeway and into the dark, away from the street,” he said.

“You grabbed her long enough, and hard enough, to leave bruises on both sides of her neck.

“She was alone when you grabbed her in the way I have described, and forced her, as I say, into the darkness.”

Judge Barklay said Daley’s actions had caused the woman emotional scarring and “debased her sense of safety”.

He said Daley’s offending was “very serious” and “an outrageous display of violence”.

“You grabbed a vulnerable, intoxicated woman around the throat for an extended period of time causing bruising to her neck.

“Your victim was a stranger to you and your actions were completely unprovoked. The CCTV footage of your attack paints a disturbing picture.”

Daley was found guilty at trial of a charge of assault causing harm for the offending but not guilty of a charge of rape.

Judge Barklay said he found it difficult to accept Daley felt any remorse or contrition for his offending and said Daley was “only sorry for the predicament” he had found himself in.

He said Daley had asked the court not to impose a conviction for his offending because he would lose his job as a commercial manager at a Barossa winemaker, a role responsible for a $30m annual grape purchasing budget that required overseas travel.

But Judge Barklay said the offending was too serious not to impose a conviction.

“More than simply convicting you, in my view the offending warrants the imposition of a term of imprisonment,” he said.

He imposed a 10-month jail term, wholly suspended on condition of a two-year good-behaviour bond.