'I'm not leaving until I get what I want from you'... the chilling words of Leeds sex attacker threatened with return to jail

Azrael Bell, 23, was given a suspended prison sentence, along with a curfew and other restrictions, for the attacks in Leeds last year.

Leeds Crown Court heard that Bell, formerly of Hyde Park, targeted his first victim, who was 17, at a bus stop near the city’s Northern Ballet last April.

In a second assault in September on Woodhouse Lane, Bell jumped from behind a bus stop and grabbed a 21-year-old student.

Prosecutor Christine Egerton said the victim thought she would be raped during the attack. Bell told her: “I’m not leaving until I get what I want from you,” the court heard.

The victim, who was on the phone to her boyfriend, managed to run towards a passing taxi and was helped inside. Bell, who pleaded guilty and had no previous convictions, had already been remanded in custody for seven months, the court heard.

His Honour Judge Jameson QC handed Bell separate concurrent sentences of two years and three months respectively, suspended for two years.

He said Bell would have to serve the remainder of the sentence if he offends again.

Bell was given a curfew order between 8pm and 6am, a rehabilitation activity requirement and ordered to be on a sex offenders’ treatment programme. He was also banned from part of Leeds for four years as part of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Richard Holmes, of Leeds District CID, said: “Given the similar circumstances and the length of time between the two offences, we believe this was a pattern of offending that he was likely to continue with had he not been caught.”