A man will not be sentenced for sexually assaulting a woman for another two months after he was forced to self-isolate.
Thuc Hung Dinh, known as 'Chan', admitted sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl at a caravan park in Old Basing part-way through a trial earlier this month.
It was claimed that he, alongside co-defendant Gary Peter Ian Davidson, plied the girl with alcohol and drugs.
Dinh, of New Bridge Lane, was due to be sentenced on Friday afternoon, but the case was adjourned after he was forced to self-isolate.
Winchester Crown Court heard that a family member of Dinh had tested positive for Covid-19, and that the defendant, who could be set to face an immediate prison sentence, would not be able to appear because of the self-isolation requirement.
He is due to self-isolate until Monday but because of scheduling conflicts and the generation of a pre-sentence report, will not be sentenced until September 27.
His barrister, Barry McElduff, said: "This can’t be an effective sentencing hearing in his absence."
He requested Judge Susan Evans QC grant permission for the probation service to generate a pre-sentence report, which will advise the judge on the best option to take when she decides what action to take, but acknowledged: "The ultimate outcome may well be an immediate prison sentence.
"When I was addressing your honour [when Dinh pleaded guilty midway through the first trial], it was on the basis to Mr Dinh pleading guilty to a sexual assault, whilst someone else was raping the victim.
"It was on that background that I didn’t ask for a pre-sentence report. But that is not the landscape to which Mr Dinh falls to be sentenced now."
Judge Evans QC granted the request, and the 33-year-old will next appear before Winchester Crown Court on September 27 to be sentenced for sexual assault.
He is currently released on bail.
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