Sex offender assaulted woman in “terrifying attack”

A convicted sex offender who attacked a lone woman in Cambridge has been jailed.

Cameron McNally, 26, began following the woman in Devonshire Road at about 8.20pm on 31 January.

The victim noticed his shadow as he trailed her from behind and she turned onto Mill Road where she still felt she was being followed.

Pictured: Cameron McNally, 26. 

McNally, who had his hood up, overtook her and withdrew cash at the Sainsbury’s ATM. Then, while she continued to walk in the Mill Road area, he grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth with his hand.

He touched her before running off towards Mill Road while the victim screamed.

She called police and McNally was arrested on 3 February.

McNally was already known to officers after being convicted in March 2023 of sexually assaulting a woman on a bus the month before. 

On Thursday (7 May), at Cambridge Crown Court, McNally, of Fortescue Road, Cambridge, was jailed for 20 months, having pleaded guilty to sexual assault.

He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for ten years and handed an indefinite restraining order against the victim.

In her impact statement, the victim said McNally’s assault had had a “lasting impact” on her and she felt “paranoid” about walking on her own.

She said it had affected her social life, and she now felt “restricted” by what she could do on an evening.

DC Will Kerslake, who investigated, said: “McNally carried out what must have been a terrifying attack for the victim, and he is clearly a danger to women.

“I’d like to praise the victim for her bravery in coming forward and helping us with a prosecution. I hope this sentence gives her some sense of closure to this traumatic period of her life.”