A BASINGSTOKE gymnastics coach has been convicted of sexually abusing a vulnerable intoxicated woman in an eight-hour ordeal.

Viables resident Alexander Hicken boasted to friends about his plans to assault the woman, who had been put to bed early at a family party because she was “so drunk that she was sick every time she moved”.

He had told friends he was “going to **** her” and later added that “he was not finished” with the victim.

Hicken continually sexually assaulted his victim during an eight-hour period where he repeatedly put his hand on her thigh and bum despite her telling him to stop.

During the ordeal, the victim lay on the bed “scared” and “crying”. He was unanimously convicted by the jury.

Read the full story in this week's Gazette.

Also in this week's paper:

  • The trust which runs Basingstoke hospital has warned that plans to build a new hospital may not go ahead if it does not meet “NHS requirements”.
  • The search for a missing dog that tugged on the heartstrings of the Basingstoke community has come to an end, much to the relief of his owner.
  • A group of residents are planning to protest outside the council offices tonight against the rising number of new housing projects in the region.
  • A plan to build 2,500 homes in countryside to the south of Basingstoke has been dealt a major blow after the council determined there were “fundamental concerns”.
  • A Basingstoke student has had part of her finger chopped off in a freak accident at Reading Festival.
  • The community has rallied to support a popular Basingstoke DJ who is recovering from Covid after becoming seriously ill. Leroy Wilson, who has been a DJ in Basingstoke since the 1990s, caught Covid in June, having been double vaccinated.
  • Four Afghan families are set to be re-homed in Basingstoke and Deane, the council has confirmed.
  • Plus, the latest cases from Basingstoke Magistrates' Court.
  • Two pages of your letters to the editor.
  • A look back on the Woman's Institute in our Flashback Thursday column.
  • The winners of the Basingstoke Gazette and Andover Advertiser's child of the year competition are revealed.
  • Eight pages of puzzles.
  • Three pages of entertainment news.
  • The latest sport from across north Hampshire.
  • And much more!

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