Description
A sex offender stripped naked and then touched a 'screaming' little girl in a Stoke-on-Trent street in a terrifying New Year's Eve incident.
Daniel Clift - who has 69 previous convictions for 135 offences - was completely nude when he spotted the six-year-old child getting out of a car in Fenton.
As the youngster tried to get back in the vehicle, 36-year-old Clift touched her on her head and shoulder and grinned and laughed as he did it. Police arrived and found him still naked talking to people outside a pub.
He was arrested and later told probation he was under the influence of monkey dust at the time. Now Clift has been jailed for three years at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
Prosecutor Antony Longworth said the incident happened at 9.40pm on December 31 as a mum was taking her child to a shop. The girl got out of the car as the mum was getting her purse from the passenger seat footwell.
Mr Longworth said: "She saw the defendant naked walking on the street. She shouted to her daughter to get back in the car. The child was standing by the front window of the car.
"She was making her way into the car and had one hand on the door handle when the defendant placed his right hand on the child's head and moved his hand down the side of her shoulder. He was seen to be grinning, smiling and laughing as he did it.
"It was a deliberate act. The mum called 999. The child was upset and screaming, 'When can we go home? Why did he touch me? Is it safe for me to get out of the car?'.
"Police went to the scene. They found the defendant naked. He was arrested. He was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. His eyes were very wide and his pupils dilated."
In a victim statement the child's mum said the youngster was traumatised and too scared to get out of the car. She said: "She keeps asking me why a man was walking around naked and touching a child like he did to her.
"I cannot believe he has done it before. I do not feel safe taking her out or letting her play out with her friends."
Clift, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to exposure, breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and common assault. The court heard he has numerous previous convictions for exposure.
Adam Watkins, mitigating, said Clift lost his parents when he was aged five and six and he grew up in the care system. He has significant mental health issues and has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. Mr Watkins said: "He has not helped himself by taking illegal substances up to and including monkey dust.
"He has been in custody for six months or so. He has been reflecting. He wants to work with the authorities and groups to get his condition and his behaviour regulated. The girl was harmed psychologically. It was fleeting.
"He cannot explain why he acted as he did. He cannot explain, let alone justify, but the evidence has roots in substance misuse and mental health difficulties. There was no pre-planning or forethought in this offence."
Judge Richard McConaghy said: "On May 5, 2022 you were made the subject of a SHPO. It restricted your contact with children. On the evening of December 31 you were walking naked on the street. You saw a girl who had just got out of a car. Because of your appearance she was getting back into the car. You touched her on her head and down on to her shoulder. You were grinning and laughing as you did it.
"When the police found you were standing still naked outside a pub talking to people. The girl was traumatised.
"This is the 70th time you have found yourself in front of a criminal court. This is the fourth time that you have been convicted of an offence of exposure.
"I take the view that this is a very serious breach of the SHPO. Not only did you have contact with a child. You did so by approaching the child while you were naked and you committed a criminal offence of assaulting her. Your offending is aggravated significantly by your previous convictions and by the fact you were intoxicated by monkey dust at the time."