An Annan man has been locked up for 16 months after defying a court order and touching a woman in a town centre store.
Pensioner Duncan Thompson was initially charged with three offences, all from January 22 this year, including allegedly performing a striptease in front of a policewoman.
Seventy-three-year-old Thompson, described in court as a prisoner at HMP Dumfries, was branded a “persistent sexual offender” by Sheriff Kevin McCallum KC.
Thompson appeared in the dock and pleaded guilty to two of the three charges.
He conceded to causing havoc in the Original Factory store at Annan High Street by shouting, swearing and uttering a remark of a sexual nature.
Thompson denied breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order imposed by Lewes Crown Court to have no contact with women which could be deemed sexual including putting his arm around a female, hugging, kissing, touching buttocks or breasts without verbal consent and also to have no conversation with a woman unless he had met her on at least one occasion.
He was charged that on January 22 this year at Annan Police Station he did, without reasonable excuse, attempt to engage in conversation with a policewoman regarding her marital status, tell her to smile, repeatedly refer to her wedding ring, stare at her then step forward towards her while directing a hip thrusting motion in her direction before removing some of his clothes in the manner of a strip tease and repeatedly trying to engage her in conversation of a personal nature.
Thompson pleaded not guilty to the charge which was accepted by the prosecutor.
He confessed that in the Original Factory shop he made a remark of a sexual nature to a woman and tried to touch her body having never met the victim before and without her verbally agreeing to such physical contact.
Thompson’s lawyer, Carolyn Priestley, told the court her client was “significantly under the influence of alcohol” and added: “He has no memory of this and he doesn’t feel he has a problem with alcohol, but I would suggest otherwise with behaviour like this.”
Sheriff McCallum KC dismissed calling for background reports on Thompson and said: “You keep committing these type of offences. This is your fourth similar matter since 2021.
“Alcohol is clearly a big issue, but until you realise there’s an issue in that regard there’s no point wasting public money on reports to try and address that.”
Sheriff McCallum KC also ordered him to be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.