A man from Catford has avoided prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a sleeping woman. 

John Vuong, now 35, appeared at Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday (April 5) to be sentenced for a sexual assault which took place almost a decade ago. 

Prosecutor Sonya Saul told the court that while she slept, Vuong pulled the woman’s underwear off and touched her. 

The woman was left feeling “confused and violated” by Vuong’s actions and the court heard about the lasting psychological impact his actions had. 

In a statement the victim said she now feels unsafe while sleeping, putting the catch on and piling items against the door. 

At trial Vuong, of Callander Road, was acquitted of an even more serious charge of sexual assault by penetration. 

Vuong's defence counsel told the court that he had grown up a lot since the sexual assault took place. 

Sentencing him for sexual assault by touching, Judge Cristopher Kinch told Vuong that an aggravating feature of the crime was that the woman was asleep. 

He said: “She did not know what had happened, she felt confused and violated. In the end, with the effects going beyond any physical violation, she ended up reporting it to the police.” 

Judge Kinch sentenced Voung to two years im jail, suspended for two years, meaning he left the court as a free man.