November 2014
Plymouth man jailed for exposing himself to schoolgirls
A MAN who indecently exposed himself to schoolgirls after luring them to his car has been jailed for more than two years – and banned from driving.
Stephen Hindley, aged 25, would use an excuse such as asking for directions before performing an indecent act in front of the teenagers.
The girls were left “shaken” and upset, Plymouth Crown Court heard.
Judge Paul Darlow jailed Hindley for 26 months for a string of offences and banned him from driving for two years.
A Crown Court judge is allowed to disqualify a defendant if he uses his car to commit an offence.
Judge Darlow said: “You targeted young girls in the early morning and on the way back from school. You would entice them to your car and ask them to join in what you were obviously doing.”
Hindley, of Little Dock Lane, Honicknowle, pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent exposure in and around Crownhill in April and May.
He also admitted seven counts of making or downloading indecent images of children.
Police found 30 pictures of Category A, the most serious; 101 of Category B and 191 of Category C.
Alistair Verheijen, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said on each occasion he would drive close to the girls and then use an excuse to summon them over – such as asking for directions.
But they would then see him performing an indecent act in the driver’s seat.
Mr Verheijen said: “The four victims immediately reported what had happened to the police. They were shaken, freaked out and disgusted.”
He added they later picked out Hindley from a video identification parade.
Rupert Taylor, for Hindley, said he had pleaded guilty as soon as he could in court.
He added: “This young man poses a risk and needs to be treated and he is willing for that to happen.”
Urging a suspended prison sentence, he said a prison sentence would not be long enough for him to get the treatment he needed behind bars.
He did not oppose the driving ban, saying the defendant did not need a car to find work.
Hindley will spend 13 months in prison, but will have to serve the full two-year driving ban
