Predator who 'smiled' while sexually assaulting women and girls in Manchester found guilty

A sexual predator showed "no remorse" and "smiled" as he attacked women and girls who were walking through an underpass near a university, a court has heard.

Robert Emmerson, 40, left his victims "terrified" after exposing himself to a number of women and committing sexual assaults beneath Mancunian Way in Manchester.

He was found guilty at Manchester Crown Court of committing 12 offences against 10 women and girls, the youngest of whom was 13 years old.

The court heard that Emmerson’s victims recalled how he smiled while he attacked them in a 'bear hug', before pinning them to the ground and groping them.

All the victims were able to escape his grasp and report the incidents to the police.

The "depraved" attacker was identified as a suspect after officers noticed a ‘pattern’ of offences between November 2023 and April 2024.

Emmerson, from Lancaster Court in Manchester, was eventually tracked down by Greater Manchester Police after the two alleged assaults on 15 April 2024.

They were able to use CCTV to trace his movements, and he was arrested days later at his ex-partner's house in Wythenshawe, Manchester.

Five victims positively identified Emmerson from an ID parade and he later found guilty of five counts of sexual assault and seven counts of exposure.

After the hearing, Alex Mann, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "Emmerson is a sexual predator who targeted women and girls in broad daylight.

"His depraved actions were carried out solely for his own sexual gratification and have had a severe impact on those he attacked."Emmerson showed no remorse, denying the offences and putting victims through the further trauma of having to relive their ordeal when giving evidence against him at a trial."

He will be sentenced in November 2024.

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