Man sentenced for repeated indecent exposures to Swindon neighbours
40 year old James Hortop has been given a suspended prison term
A Swindon man's been given a suspended prison sentence for repeated indecent exposures in front of his neighbours.
40 year old James Hortop from Dennis Street went into the back garden of a neighbouring property on March 15th, and started masturbating in view of a security camera.
He fled the garden after realising he'd been spotted, and was arrested soon afterwards.
Police then found CCTV footage from other neighbours of similar incidents spanning two years - Hortop had exposed himself in gardens and performed sex acts in deliberate view of their cameras.
He was again arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure - with a small amount of cocaine found at his address.
Hortop was charged and pleaded guilty at Swindon Magistrates Court.
He was sentenced on Monday (7th April) to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months - as well as a restraining order and a seven year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
He's also required to carry out mental health treatment and 10 rehab activity days.
Volume Crime Team Supervisor Dan Cook said: “The first initial report was made to Wiltshire Police on March 15 and I’m pleased that in less than a month, Hortop has been sentenced for multiple incidents of exposure.
“This is not low-level offending. Hortop repeatedly exposed himself in front of the victims in an escalating manner, invading their privacy and potentially causing serious harm and trauma.
“As a result, we took robust action to prevent further harm.
“I’d like to stress that this is an under-reported, serious sexual offence. We know that offences such as this can pose a risk of developing or evolving into further sexual offences or predatory sexual offending.
“We will always take them seriously and ensure reports like this are thoroughly investigated.
“I’d like to thank the bravery of those members in the community who came forward and supported the investigation.
“I’d also like to thank the investigators of the Volume Crime Team for their diligence and professionalism in securing this result so swiftly."