A convicted high risk sex offender who exposed himself to a horrified woman as she walked her dog in West Cumbria woodland will be sentenced by a crown court judge next month.
Christopher Scott, 32, followed the female while she was in an area west of Workington on September 26 last year. He had also earlier aroused the suspicions of another member of the public.
Scott unnerved the woman by staring before dropping trousers to his knees and exposing himself. She rang her husband who advised her to walk to a more public place but Scott continued to stare as she waited to be collected.
The woman now felt vulnerable wherever she went, had not been back to that area and, despite never before considering self-defence, had since sought the advice of a martial arts teacher as she considered protecting herself.
Scott admitted exposure and was sentenced at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court this morning when a moving impact statement provided by the woman was read. “During this incident I felt terrified,” she had stated. “I didn’t know what to do. The way he stared at me was very menacing.”
The woman had felt “sheer horror” by Scott’s behaviour and later suffered flashbacks. She added: “I find myself (now) questioning everything and everybody.”
Scott had previously been sentenced by a crown court judge for committing a sex act in front of children and parents in Silloth. The court heard he had “smirked” while committing the offence in September, 2021.
Scott, who gave his address as Station Road, Workington, was later sent to prison for breaching a community order he received for that crime, and had been released from custody only a short time before the exposure offence.
Magistrates head today that concerns had been raised by an agency seeking to monitor him in the community. Police concluded he was a “very high risk offender” and were seeking tougher controls in a bid to curb his criminal conduct.
Andy Travis, prosecuting, said his Workington offence had been “extremely premeditated and predatory”, adding: “If has proved difficult if not impossible to manage him in the community.”
Asked whether he wishes to say anything as he appeared in court over a video link, Scott said: “I made a mistake, I guess, and I’m sorry for it, for everything I’ve done.”
In view of the serious nature of the offence and profound impact on the woman, magistrates sent the case to Carlisle Crown Court. Scott is due to be sentenced on February 16 and will remain in custody until then.
