Serial Wakefield sex pest banned from buses thanks judge as he is returned to prison
Poundford told arresting officers he “couldn’t be bothered” registering
A serial sex pest from Wakefield thanked a Leeds Crown Court judge yesterday as he was returned to prison.
The court heard how Neil Poundford had pleaded guilty to failing to comply with his notification requirements as a registered sex offender following his release from prison.
Prosecutor Oliver Kilvington detailed how the defendant had been required to attend a police station within three days of his release from a 12-month sentence.
Poundford told arresting officers he “couldn’t be bothered” registering as it would cost him £30 in taxi fares, the court heard.
Mr Kilvington explained how the 67-year-old is banned from buses, unless accompanied by a trusted adult, following repeated sexual assaults on women.
He added that Poundford’s deliberate failure to comply represented a “serious risk of harm or distress” to public.
Providing mitigation on his own behalf, the defendant, of no fixed abode, told the court that he holds his “hands up to everything else.”
He added: “If I know I’ll be homeless then I get on a bus and deliberately get caught so I come back here [jail]. I wouldn’t survive a night on the street like younger men.”
Judge, Recorder James Baird, sentenced him to 16 months in prison.
“That’s a very fair sentence your honour. I thank you for your professionalism,” Poundford told the judge.