February 2023

Sex offender shoved a courgette down the front of his leggings before simulating a sex act in front of shoppers and children

A pervert jailed for shoving a courgette down the front of his leggings before simulating a sex act in front of shoppers and children is back behind bars.

“Persistent sex offender” Geoffrey Chambers, 68, from Newport has been locked up for breaching an order regulating his use of the internet.

That sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) was imposed in February 2021 after he’d “paraded himself” in Hereford while making eye contact with women.

Tabitha Walker, prosecuting, said Chambers was arrested in Cwmbran town centre last August after police received reports he was “following young women around and filming them”.

There was no evidence of him doing this but officers searched him and found two mobile phones that had wiping apps which were prohibited by the terms of his SHPO.

The defendant, formerly of Cwmbran, now Clarence Place, Newport, admitted the breach.

Cardiff Crown Court heard Chambers was jailed for 22 months in 2021 after being caught exposing himself on a crowded beach at Barry Island when it was packed with thousands of sunseekers.

He was spotted stroking himself near a group of teenage girls.

A judge told him on that occasion he was “addicted” to flashing.

Chambers has 33 previous convictions for sex offences – the majority for exposure – dating back to the early 1980s.

Ruth Smith, representing him, said: “He’s a defendant who has struggled with a compulsion to expose himself in the past.

“He’s someone who has indicated a willingness to engage in programmes and is making the most of the use of his time in custody.”

Judge Paul Hobson told Chambers: “You are a committed and persistent sex offender.

“You were warned about this software and it seems to me the breach was deliberate.”

Chambers was jailed for 12 months and told he would serve half of that time in custody before being released on licence.

He was ordered to pay a victim surcharge following his release from prison.

February 2021

Pervert jailed for rubbing courgette through leggings in Hereford

A pervert who shoved a courgette down the front of the leggings he was wearing before “parading” in front of shoppers has been jailed.

Prolific sex offender Geoffrey Chambers, of Beaumaris Houses in Cwmbran, was spotted in Hereford’s High Town by horrified and disgusted shoppers, including parents with their children, on a Saturday afternoon in the run-up to Christmas.

The 66-year-old stood simulating a sex act for more than an hour before he was arrested by police.

Cathlyn Orchard, prosecuting, told Hereford Crown Court on Friday that Chambers had a “long history of indecent exposures” which resulted in prison time and sexual harm prevention orders, but that did not seem to be a deterrent.

It was at 12.30pm in High Town on Saturday, December 12, when Chambers was spotted leaning against a market stall pole by an off-duty police officer, Miss Orchard said.

He was wearing a coat, tight leggings and a face mask. The police officer’s wife said she could see a large, long item through the leggings which Chambers kept touching.

He kept trying to make eye contact with the officer’s wife, as well as other woman in the city centre, with lots of “distressed” shoppers also noticing Chambers.

One witness, who was shopping with her 14-year-old daughter, said she “felt sick” and immediately went home.

Chambers, who had only been released from prison two months before the offence, then started “parading himself”, Miss Orchard said.

Police turned up around an hour later to arrest him, and he then removed the courgette which was tied around his waist with string.

When officers searched his car they found more courgettes.

It also came to light that Chambers had recently committed two similar acts in Swansea and Cardiff recently, but only received a warning from police in South Wales.

Sentencing Chambers to eight months in prison, Judge Martin Jackson said most shoppers in High Town reacted with “disgust and repulsion” at what they saw.

Having only just come out of prison after serving time for two attempted child sexual offences, and with 31 cases of indecent exposure to his name, he rejected the defence view that Chambers was a decent prospect for rehabilitation.

The judge said the actions in High Town were “offensive, disturbing and alarming” and unacceptable in public view, especially where there was families with children of all ages.

Chambers, who pleaded guilty to one county of public order offence and one of outraging public decency, was sent to prison for eight months, and his current sexual harm prevention order was modified. He must also pay a statutory surcharge, but does not have to pay costs.