Sex attacker banned from staying in any hotel in the UK after targeting staff member

Sex offender Brett Whittaker must give police two days’ notice if he checks into any paid accommodation for the next 10 years after being jailed for a sickening sex attack on a male hotel worker

A predatory sex offender has been banned from staying in any hotel, B&B or guesthouse in the UK. Brett Whittaker, 44, was told he cannot check into any paid accommodation for 10 years – unless he gives police two days’ notice.

The order was imposed after he launched a terrifying sex attack inside a hotel in North Yorkshire, trapping a staff member in a room and assaulting him in four different ways. The victim had been trying to deal with Whittaker’s complaint that his room was too hot.

The employee told York Crown Court that the attack had affected him so much he needed counselling and medical help – and has been unable to continue working for the hotel.

He said: “I wish Brett Whittaker hadn’t trapped me in a room, assaulted me and caused me anxiety. It is a horrible memory to live with.”

Whittaker also behaved sexually towards a woman who was having a vape at the hotel.

To protect hotel staff and the public, Judge Simon Hickey made Whittaker subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order that bans him from staying in any paid accommodation unless he tells police.

Jailing him for 18 months, the judge said: “You have a propensity to assault not just young females but also young males.”

Referencing the attacks on the hotel employee, he told Whittaker: “He was trapped in a room by you [who was] much bigger, much stronger and in drink.”

Defence barrister Giles Grant said Whittaker’s work as a labourer had taken him all over the country. Whittaker was put on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and will have to notify the police where he lives among other conditions.

The hotel employee had to give evidence against Whittaker as the 44-year-old of no fixed address denied four charges of sexually assaulting him.

A York jury convicted him unanimously in less than two hours on what the judge called “overwhelming evidence” against him, including the defendant’s DNA left when he kissed the employee.

The jury heard Whittaker had two previous convictions for sexual assault but were unaware he had also been convicted of trying to cause a child to watch a sexual act.

After the verdicts, Mr Grant said the four assaults on the hotel employee were part of the same continuous event and that alcohol had been involved.

Whittaker had an ongoing issue with alcohol and had told his barrister that he had abstained from drinking since being released from prison. He had been held on remand for two months after his arrest earlier this year.

If you or somebody you know has been affected by this story, contact Victim Support for free, confidential advice on 08 08 16 89 111 or visit their website.

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