A DPD delivery driver in Leicester sexually attacked many women in a village within a span of two days. The conduct of Ionut Torodoc, who further photographed one of his victims, was deemed “disturbing” by the judge who sentenced him today (Thursday, November 14).
Ionut Torodoc, residing on Stuart Street in Leicester’s Westcotes, perpetrated a sequence of unsettling activities involving the caressing, kissing, and groping of five distinct victims. The events occurred over a span of two days in the village of East Leake, Nottinghamshire, according to Nottinghamshire Live.
Nottingham Crown Court was informed that the attacks commenced on Tuesday, May 21, when Ionut Torodoc obstructed a woman’s vehicle by parking his van in front of it to deliver a box. Prosecutor Thomas Welshman stated: “She had her nine-year-old son in the vehicle but exited upon recognising the defendant and opened her residence to receive the parcel.” He informed her that she was a ‘beautiful girl’ and attempted to kiss her, but she averted her face.
“She was shocked and returned to her car and he got in and sat in the front passenger seat and said ‘let’s go’ before turning to her son in the back seat and telling him ‘your mum is very beautiful’. He then got out of the car and said ‘you must order more parcels’.”
The second incident happened just 20 minutes later when Ionut Torodoc delivered another parcel in the village. When the female resident answered the door, he placed it on the floor and as she picked it up, he put his hand on her thigh, telling her she had a “nice tattoo”.
Mr Welshman said Ionut Torodoc then pushed “his hand further up her thigh and started to grab her shorts”. He said: “[Ionut Torodoc] told her ‘I need to get a photo’ and took a photo from above and when she saw it, it was not of the parcel but just her body. He said ‘I had to get your legs in’.”
The third victim was at her workplace when Ionut Torodoc arrived with a delivery, claiming to be unwell. He was given a glass of water and something to eat. While there, he kissed one of the female workers on the cheeks before “grabbing her face and kissing her on the mouth”.
Mr Welshman stated: “She felt him trying to put his tongue in her mouth and clenched her teeth together to prevent this from happening.”
The fourth victim was at East Leake Leisure Centre when she was approached by Ionut Torodoc a few hours later. He had just made a delivery when he “grabbed” the woman and tried to pull her close to him.
The following day (Wednesday, May 22), Ionut Torodoc targeted his fifth victim – a 17-year-old girl who was walking to work. Court heard how he pulled up alongside the teenager and asked her for a light before grabbing her hand.
Mr Welshman said: “She walked off and he followed her in the van wound down his window and said ‘where do you work, I will take you, get in’. She said ‘get away from me’ and when she got to work she suffered a panic attack and had to be sent home.”
Court was also told that prior to the East Leake offences, Ionut Torodoc had picked up a boy who was at a self-service checkout at a Leicester Tesco Express with his mother. Prosecutors said the boy’s mum demanded he put him down, telling Ionut Torodoc he should not do that and he walked away.
Emma Coverley, mitigating, said Ionut Torodoc had a wife and son in Romania, and at the time of the offences, his wife had informed him she wanted to end their relationship. She explained: “He has been in custody for six months now and has not had a family visit. He was given indefinite leave to be in the UK in 2020 and was working and quite properly sending money home to his family in Romania.”
Ionut Torodoc, who required a Romanian interpreter at this week’s hearing, pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault and also to common assault. He was jailed for 17 months.
Recorder Ciaran Rankin said: “This case paints a very disturbing and troubling picture. You displayed a bizarre attitude towards others you came into contact with when working as a delivery driver. It is an extremely worrying set of offences and in your pre-sentence report you don’t seem to recognise the seriousness of these offences.”
As well as the prison sentence, Ionut Torodoc was also placed the sex offender register for 10 years.
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