David Lawty, a 62-year-old parish councillor from Walpole St Peter in Norfolk, has been imprisoned for sexually assaulting a woman and making explicit threats of rape during the incident. The attack occurred on December 8, 2023, and Lawty, who served as an elected member of Walpole Parish Council until 2024, denied the charges initially but pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial at Norwich Crown Court in August 2024.
According to court proceedings reported by the Eastern Daily Press, the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was subjected to a violent and sexually motivated assault. Lawty groped her breasts and bottom, placed his hands around her neck, and verbally abused her, calling her 'useless' and 'pathetic'. He made chilling threats, stating, 'I’m going to rape you whether you like it or not,' and further escalating with, 'Before the end of the day you’ll have my d*** inside you.' When the woman fought back and dialled 999 to report the assault, Lawty attempted to coerce her into calling back to claim it was a hoax.
Christopher Wing, prosecuting, highlighted the sexual harm and threats of violence involved in the offence. At the time of the attack, Lawty was already subject to a suspended sentence for a previous assault and actual bodily harm against another woman. Judge Andrew Shaw, sentencing Lawty via video link from HMP Norwich, imposed a total of two years and seven months in prison: 18 months for the sexual assault, with an additional 15 months activated from the prior suspended sentence.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman described her ongoing trauma: 'He was not in control of his emotions and I didn't know what he would do next.' She added, 'I will spend the rest of my life in fear of him.' Lawty was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and subjected to an indefinite restraining order prohibiting contact with the victim.
Lawty's background includes his role on Walpole Parish Council, where he last attended a meeting in May 2024. In 2019, he faced a council investigation for failing to declare an interest in a planning application. Edward Renvoize, mitigating, noted Lawty's recent escalation in offending, stating, 'This is a man who until pretty recently had only been before the courts on one occasion for a relatively minor matter but then in a short period has committed an assault and this offence. There is something that has clearly gone badly awry.'