Taxi Driver Online

Birmingham Evening Mail

March 29, 2007, Thursday

Solihull News: Perv driver avoids jail.

Taxi man's indecent act near school gates

BYLINE: Paul Beard

A MARRIED taxi driver who exposed himself and performed an indecent act in woods near a Solihull school has been given a suspended prison sentence.

David Dowson, 45, of Bannerlea Road, Kingshurst, had pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to a charge of exposure.

He was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years, with two years supervision, and was ordered to pay pounds 300 costs and to register as a sex offender for seven years.

Prosecutor Tom Schofield told the court that in March last year two 13-year-old boys were walking home from school at about 3.20pm when they saw a man masturbating in the woods off Windward Way, Smith's Wood. The woods where Dawson was exposing himself were clearly next to a school premises, and he was only 12 yards from the boys and clearly visible to them and three other schoolchildren who were passing.

Dowson continued with what he was doing until one of the boys shouted 'urgh' at him loudly, at which Dowson looked at them and did up his trousers.

The two friends ran off as he then walked in their direction and one of them told his mother what they had seen.

She called the police and the boys gave them a good description of Dowson.

Three days later one of the boys saw Dowson and watched him go to a green Ford Mondeo with the name of a local taxi firm on the door.

He and his friend saw Dowson again the next day, and this time they were able to take the number of the car, which they passed to police.

When Dowson, whose only previous convictions were for driving matters, was arrested he denied exposing himself or even being in the woods, but pleaded guilty on the day he was due to stand trial, added Mr Schofield.

Daniel White, defending, said Dowson had been married for 24 years and had three children.

He asked the judge to follow a recommendation to impose a long community order with a condition of attending a sex offender programme.

But Judge Charles Harris QC told Dowson: "You have pleaded guilty to exposing yourself and masturbating. It is a pointless and offensive piece of mild perversion, unpleasant for people to come across."
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