A GRINNING pervert who groped young women and teenagers in Chester city centre “for fun” has been jailed for a year.

Maciej Siluch, 26, of Beech Grove, Flint, was the subject of a police CCTV appeal after a woman complained he had touched her in an underpass on May 13 this year.

Four more victims then came forward while Siluch’s colleagues at Morrisons supermarket recognised him and notified the police.

Chester Crown Court heard today (Monday, July 9) that the defendant deliberately stroked the thighs or bottoms of five women in total over a six-week period between March and May.

One victim was 16 years old and taking her GCSE exams at the time, while another 15-year-old girl had been at a birthday party with a friend.

Describing the latter incident, prosecutor Owen Edwards said: “The defendant approached them and as he passed her he reached out and felt her bottom.

“He continued walking but turned to look at her and seemed pleased with himself. She was scared and was about to be picked up by her mum.

“She was wearing a summer dress and has now stopped wearing dresses as she felt this could have in some way caused the incident.”

Another victim was working in a shop stacking shelves when she felt Siluch touch her bottom. She turned around just in time to see him walk off.

After he was arrested, Siluch made full admissions to police and later pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault at the first opportunity.

“He said he was drunk and that he was looking for pretty women of around his age,” Mr Edwards told the court.

“He hadn’t considered they might be scared or upset by his behaviour. He said that he thought it was fun.”

Chris Hunt, defending, described Siluch as a single, hard-working young man who had never been in trouble with the law before.

A trained chef, he arrived in the UK from a small village in his native Poland around five years ago.

“He has difficulty explaining his offending, save that his closest relative, his brother, committed suicide quite recently and he feels that pushed him off the rails and made him start to behave in this uncharacteristic way,” Mr Hunt said.

He urged Judge Patrick Thompson to suspend any custodial sentence, saying the public would be better served if Siluch were to undertake a course for sex offenders.

“He knows what he’s done is wrong and is adamant it will never happen again,” Mr Hunt added.

However, the judge said a man of 26 should know it is wrong to grope women in the street and felt the public would be safer with Siluch behind bars.

He said there was a level of planning as the defendant would “loiter” in the city centre and on one occasion was pretending to text on his phone before touching one of his victims.

Referring to the incident involving the 15-year-old girl, the judge told Siluch: “You turned around and grinned. You seemed to think it was funny.

“She is now wary of wearing dresses. You’ve taken away all of her confidence because of your perverted behaviour.”

Siluch must sign on the sex offenders register for 10 years.