Man pleads guilty to serious assault and kidnap charges in Eastleigh

A man has pleaded guilty to a number of offences following a serious assault in Eastleigh in August 2020.

At around 2.15am on Tuesday 4 Augusts 2020, 19-year-old Jeremy Blake Simmons attacked a woman as she walked along Leigh Road and then dragged her into Leigh Road Park.

During the incident, he assaulted the woman, made threats to kill and kidnapped her with intent to commit a sexual offence.

He pleaded guilty at Southampton Crown Court on 9 September 2020 to one count of assault causing actual bodily harm, one count of threats to kill and one count of kidnap. At the same hearing, Simmons also pleaded guilty to a separate incident of robbery, in East Park, Southampton in the early hours of Saturday 1 August 2020.

Following the conclusion of a three-day trial at Southampton Crown Court yesterday (Wednesday 10 March), Simmons, of no fixed abode, was also found guilty of kidnap with intent to commit a sexual offence.

He was remanded in custody to appear at the same court on 26 April for sentencing.