A man has been sentenced for repeatedly indecently exposing himself in front of his neighbours.
On March 15 this year, James Hortop, 40, of Dennis Street, Swindon, entered his neighbour’s back garden naked and began masturbating.
The residents were alerted to this by a camera in their garden. After fleeing the garden once he realised he had been detected, Hortop returned to his own property and was arrested soon afterwards.
After speaking to other neighbours, more CCTV footage of Hortop came to light spanning a period of two years, in which he went to a different neighbour’s home naked and masturbated and performed sex acts in full and deliberate view of their camera.
Hortop was arrested again on suspicion of indecent exposure. During the arrest, a small amount of cocaine was found at his address.
He was charged with both offences and pleaded guilty. At a hearing at Swindon Magistrates’ Court, he was sentenced to 26 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
He is also subject to a restraining order, and a sexual harm prevention order for seven years, and required to complete mental health treatment as a non-resident and 10 rehabilitation activity requirement 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."
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