A Gwynedd Paedophile father of two, Stephen Freer, was sentenced to imprisonment for sexual assault today after kissing a young man with autism in a Wetherspoons lavatory cubicle without consent. Stephen Freer, 45, from Parciau in Mynytho, Gwynedd, confronted his victim at the Pen Cob pub chain location in Pwllheli last March.
Prosecutor Simon Mintz stated that the young man in his twenties dined with his family and visited the pub’s restrooms three times during his stay. Freer, there on each occasion, jested that the duo must have “synchronised bladders.”
The court was informed that Freer positioned himself in the doorway of a cubicle as the victim washed his hands during the third visit to the lavatory. Freer, 45, subsequently summoned him into the cubicle and kissed him on the lips.
Mr Mintz said the victim was “too frightened to resist” and scared of what would happen if he didn’t respond the way the dad-of-two wanted. A family member noticed the victim was “in a state of shock” after leaving the toilets alongside Freer.
Freer claimed the young man had just been sick, complaining to him about an “upset tummy”. But the victim’s relatives confronted the defendant, said Mr Mintz, who continued denied anything else happened in the toilets.
The victim only revealed to his family what really happened once they left the pub. The police were then informed.
Freer was arrested and at first continued to deny anything happened between the men but later admitted to the kiss but claimed to have “reasonable belief” it was consensual.
The victim’s sister, through a victim impact statement, said her brother blamed himself for the incident. She went on to say that he is “reluctant to go out” and remains “anxious and distrustful” when in social situations.
Elen Owen, defending told the court her client had “no idea” of the victim’s autism. She argued that this case did not involve a “significant degree of planning” of Freer’s part, claiming that he was already in the toilets when the complainant arrived the third time, adding it was a “chance encounter” at the time the assault took place.
Freer accepted, through Ms Owen, that he’d been drinking “enough to loosen his inhibitions” that day. The barrister said that, in the sober light of day he accepted what he did was wrong.
She said: “He is not a danger to other people and has learnt his lesson. He will not repeat these out-of-character actions again.”
Recorder Wyn Lloyd-Jones said he “would not be doing his job properly” if he did not send Freer straight to prison for his eight month sentence for what must have been a “frightening” experience for the victim. He told Freer that he’d also need to register as a sex offender for the next decade.
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