WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: Roman Scott, 35, from Sutton was sentenced to 17 months for public indecency offences including a 13-hour masturbation spree on trains, but was released early only to turn up drunk
A man from Sutton who embarked on a 13-hour masturbation spree on a train was let out early, only to be sent back to prison. He showed up ‘drunk’ to his first probation meeting.
Last December, Roman Scott, 35, spent 13 hours flashing and pleasuring himself in front of women on several trains. In one shocking incident, passengers booted him off a train after he flashed two women, while in another, he exposed himself to a victim after sneaking into a ladies’ loo.
On a train to Manchester, he plonked himself next to a young woman, trapping her in her seat, and began masturbating. The young woman and fellow passengers reported the incident to the train guard but, undeterred, the predator flashed and made sexual advances towards another woman.
He claimed that “drinking just gets the better of me sometimes” when police finally put an end to his spree.
Scott, of Brunswick Road in Sutton, was handed a total sentence of 17 months for various offences on 25 September this year, but was released just days later on 1 October as part of an early release scheme.
His 17-month sentence covered the public exposure in December and further offences of exposure and failing to comply with notification requirements of the sex offenders’ register, according to Salisbury Crown Court and reported MyLondon.
Since Scott had been held on remand since March, he qualified for early release and walked free just one week after receiving his sentence. On the very day of his release, he arrived “intoxicated” at his first probation appointment, even nodding off “lying across chairs in the waiting area”, a probation officer familiar with his case revealed to Croydon Magistrates’ Court.
The officer informed the court that Scott was “released at 10am and attended PDU (Probation Delivery Unit) at 3.30pm”, where he seemed “intoxicated” and dozed off in the waiting area.
“He appeared confused, disoriented and under the influence of alcohol,” the officer said. “He also made inappropriate comments and remarks to staff.
“Due to his presentation, the appointment could not safely proceed and was terminated. His behaviour indicates an increased likelihood of further offending and poses a risk to the public. Recall is therefore considered necessary for the public to prevent further reoffending.”
Scott then reportedly contacted probation on October 7, pleading for “one more chance”. He was told to surrender himself at a police station as he had been recalled to prison.
An arrest warrant was issued the next day when he failed to appear in court. Scott is now back behind bars after being captured by the Metropolitan Police.
He represents just one of numerous similar cases currently plaguing London, with the impact of the early release programme even prompting Met Police Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams to pen a letter to politicians calling for them to reject it.
“While the Met fully recognises that the Government is dealing with significant pressures across the criminal justice system, and there are no easy options, we cannot allow those pressures simply to be transferred onto policing with no recognition,” Det Ch Supt Williams wrote.
“It is also disheartening for officers to repeatedly arrest the same offenders, only to see them released back into the community and reoffending again.
“Furthermore, this is not just a localised issue with similar cases occurring across London, where people are released, only for their cycle of offending to immediately start again. I, along with other officers from across the Met are concerned this will only get worse as more people are released early.”
A Government spokesperson said: “This offender is rightly back in custody. We inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse, and had we failed to act, the police would have been forced to halt arrests, putting victims and communities at untold risk.
“To protect the public, we’re putting thousands more neighbourhood police officers on our streets, introducing the toughest-ever licence controls, expanding electronic tagging, investing in probation at record levels, and delivering 14,000 more prison places.”