Man Jailed after Sexual Offences in Hartlepool

A man has been jailed after a series of sexual assaults in Hartlepool.

Paul Sild, aged 34, from Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to more than 20 offences of sexual assault, possession of indecent images and extreme pornography.

Sild was arrested and charged by Hartlepool CID officers in June, after a number of women came forward to report incidents which had taken place on residential streets in the town in May.

Officers found that Sild had approached women who were unknown to him in the street and used a syringe to squirt them with a substance, which was found to contain traces of his DNA. He had filmed these assaults on his mobile phone, which he carried in a hollowed-out book to conceal it.

Following his arrest, officers found evidence of further sexual assaults which had not been reported to police, along with indecent images of children and extreme pornography on his mobile phone.

At Teesside Crown Court today, Friday 12^th December, Sild received four-and-a-half years in prison, with an 18-month extended licence.

*** Photograph shows Paul Sild *** 

Detective Sergeant Ian Boyes, from Hartlepool CID, said: “I am satisfied with the sentence handed to Paul Sild today, as it means he is no longer a danger to women in the town. We have also applied for a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and Sild will be a Registered Sex Offender who will be monitored upon his release, to further protect vulnerable women and girls.

“Paul Sild had not committed offences prior to May 2024, and so the sudden escalation of his behaviour was extremely concerning and, as officers went through the content on his phone, it became clear that he posed a danger. 

“Sild committed sexual offences against women and teenage girls at random in the street and filmed them on his mobile phone. A number of those women may not have even known what had happened to them until afterwards, or until they got home. I hope that today’s outcome provides some comfort to those victims.”

Teesside SARC offers free support and practical help to anyone in Teesside who has experienced sexual violence and/or sexual abuse, whether or not they want to involve police. More information can be found here: https://sarcteesside.co.uk/