Former Lancashire town mayor jailed over knicker thefts (From Blackpool Citizen)

Former Lancashire town mayor jailed over knicker thefts

7:00pm Friday 5th February 2010

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The mayor of a Lancashire village who got his “sexual kicks” by sneaking into bedrooms to steal and violate women’s underwear has been jailed for two years after he was caught out by a secret camera.

Church-going Ian Stafford, 59, was a highly respected member of the community and Mayor of Preesall, near Fleetwood, before his “bluntly revolting” behaviour was uncovered, Preston Crown Court heard.

A part-time handyman and gardener, he had been employed for years by some of his victims who trusted him with keys to their homes.

But while alone Stafford, a bachelor, would creep into their bedrooms, rifle through underwear draws and masturbate before replacing the knickers and also stealing some of the garments.

One suspicious homeowner who began to notice the thefts then planted hidden cameras - which captured one episode with Stafford in the bedroom naked from the waste down acting out his fantasy, the court was told.

The 14-minute DVD was passed to police and Stafford’s home searched where officers found stolen underwear which were marked with the women’s names on them, the court heard.

Stafford, of Sandycroft Place, Preesall, who resigned as mayor after being arrested, was jailed for two years after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to three counts of burglary with a further count taken into consideration.

The charges relate to the homes of four women in Poulton-le-Fylde and Stalmine.

After hobbling into court using a walking stick, past his victims in the public gallery, his jaw dropped as he was sent down by Judge Heather Lloyd, who told him his actions were “bluntly revolting”.

”Your private desires or fantasies which should only be your concern became public when you decided to do what you did in the homes of those who trusted you,” she told him.

“To masturbate into a woman’s underwear and place it back in the drawer, repeatedly, as seen in the DVD, as you have done in other homes is bluntly revolting and the impact on your victims is high.”

The court heard the victims were “embarrassed, disgusted and shocked” to discover how the man they trusted was getting his “sexual kicks”.

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