Court Doubles Sentence for Sex Offender Benjamin Dilnot

Appeal Court Doubles Sentence of North Yorkshire Sex Offender

Benjamin Dilnot, a 23-year-old from Willow Bank, Brayton, Selby, North Yorkshire, has had his prison sentence doubled by appeal court judges. He was originally sentenced to two years and five months for sexually assaulting a woman in November 2022.

York Crown Court heard that Dilnot would have been released shortly due to serving nearly 500 days on remand. The victim, however, stated she had suffered from nightmares for years, carried the lasting scars of his actions, and was undergoing counseling.

The Attorney General appealed Dilnot's sentence, arguing it was too lenient for such a prolonged and violent sexual assault. Three appeal court judges agreed and increased the sentence to four years and nine months.

Due to Dilnot being free at the time of the appeal hearing, the judges ordered him to surrender himself to a police station to begin his revised prison term. This marks the second time Dilnot has been imprisoned for offenses against women. Prior to his November sentencing, he served a two-year term for offenses committed against another woman.

Dilnot was previously acquitted of alleged offenses against two additional women in separate trials. He is currently subject to three restraining orders prohibiting contact with these women and restricting him from approaching their residences. He will remain on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

During his initial sentencing, Dilnot pleaded guilty to charges including sexual assault, causing actual bodily harm, and witness intimidation against the first woman, all committed when he was 18. The prosecution revealed that after the assault, Dilnot attempted to persuade the victim to retract her statement by repeatedly contacting her despite bail conditions prohibiting such contact. He threatened suicide, claimed she had ruined his life, and asserted he would never find employment.

The defense barrister argued that there was a period when the first woman was protected under an earlier restraining order during which Dilnot did not contact her.