Leeds stalker banned from 'dogging' and using sex workers as 'outlet' to prevent him offending
A stalker who targeted a terrified Leeds student and would masturbate outside her window has now been banned from using sex workers.
Jason Mart was jailed earlier this year when he became fixated on a young woman, visiting her home and telling her “I picked you”.
The sick 54-year-old would hang around outside her basement-room window in Woodhouse and pleasure himself.
Having been released from prison, he was brought back before Leeds Crown Court after an application was submitted by West Yorkshire Police to extend the terms of his life-long sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) - to ban him from using sex workers.
It was argued by his counsel that he used the workers as an “outlet” that could prevent him offending.
But prosecuting the case, Andrew Pickin said: “He fantasises about people who are considered vulnerable and sex workers are considerably vulnerable members of society.
“If he fantasises about carrying these acts out and he is not precluded from approaching vulnerable people, there’s a real risk that will happen.”
Judge Simon Phillips KC approved the variation to the order. It stipulates that he will be in breach if he is caught “kerb crawling” - driving slowly along a road close to the pavement with the intention of engaging any person in sexual activity.
The revised order also states that he will be in breach if he is caught “dogging” - engaging in consensual sexual activities with other people in public.
Mart, a warehouse worker, suffers from autism spectrum disorder. He had only been diagnosed at the age of 47.
He targeted the young student last year and would drive his van to her home, where he would loiter outside her pavement-level window.
When she saw him mastubating, he told her: “I’m really sorry, I can’t help it. I really like you. I picked you.”
Through his vehicle registration he was traced to his address on Birchwood Hill, Shadwell, and arrested.
He was searched and found to have condoms and lubrication on him. They also found three DVDs at his home, depicting people engaged in sexual acts with animals.
He admitted offences of stalking, exposure and possessing extreme pornography.
The victim told the court that it made her feel “sick and scared” and she felt “sick to her stomach” that he had been following her.
He was given 11 months’ jail, put him on the sex offender register for 10 years and given the SHPO for life.
Leeds-based charity Basis Yorkshire, which works to end the stigma and create safety for sex workers, welcomed the ban on Mart.
In a statement to the Yorkshire Evening Post, the charity’s marketing manager Amber Wilson said they were “appalled” at the suggestion that the SHPO did not extend to sex workers in the first instance.
She said: “We are highly conscious that there are people who pose a significant risk to women who may specifically target sex workers.
“We are particularly appalled by the suggestion that sex workers, who are already at greater risk of harm by perpetrators, should be exempt from the sexual harm prevention order issued, implying that it is acceptable to expose sex workers to greater harm than is deemed acceptable to the general public.”
Moya Woolven, CEO of Basis Yorkshire added: “We are relieved to see the protection order that has been put in place and the overall outcome, given the concerns that were presented in court which could have posed a significant risk to sex workers.
“We would like to thank our colleagues, West Yorkshire Police and everyone else involved in this outcome.”