March 2010

Man exposed himself to schoolgirls in local park

A flasher has been placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register after exposing himself to schoolgirls on two separate occasions last November.

Simon Goff, of Shawley Crescent, Epsom, was handed a three-year community order at Sutton Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

The 30-year-old must also attend the Thames Valley Sex Offender Group programme for three years.

On November 4 last year, two girls were walking home, from a local secondary school, through Cheam Park, off Ewell Road, when Goff approached the pair and flashed at them before running off to nearby Cheam Village.

The victims immediately reported the incident to a PCSO who was nearby in the park.

Six days later on November 10, at around 4pm, in Cheam Park, two schoolgirls saw Goff on a footpath walking towards them.

He exposed himself in front of them and they ran away in shock.

Goff was arrested on November 25 after a concerted police operation involving both uniformed and plain-clothed officers in the park and surrounding area.

Detective Constable Kevin Guest, of Sutton’s Crime Squad, said: “I thank the victims for their dignity and courage in the way they coped with a traumatic experience and for their help in bringing a sexual offender before the courts.”

Goff, who pleaded guilty at an earlier date to two counts of indecent exposure, will remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years from March 15, the date of conviction.