Locations
Penny Lane, Liverpool, L18
Description
A man has been jailed for sex offences including outraging public decency on a Warrington to Widnes bus.
James Taylor, 24, from Penny Lane, Liverpool appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on 15 May to be sentenced after pleading guilty to three counts of outraging public decency, two counts of sexual activity in the presence of a child, three counts of making indecent images of children, and one count of possession of indecent images.
He was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
Taylor came to police attention following an investigation into reports that a man had been masturbating in full view of two teenage boys in Widnes on 8 May 2024. The suspect was seen to get off the 110 bus and a CCTV trawl identified the suspect, but not his identity.
A witness appeal and then a CCTV appeal were issued to the media and posted on social media to find the identity of the suspect. Taylor commented on his own CCTV media appeal to say he’d not seen anyone acting suspiciously on the bus which he regularly gets on.
He was subsequently identified through the partial logo on his work’s fleece, and his identity confirmed, leading to his arrest on 29 May 2025. He had his phones seized on which officers discovered he had been filming himself in public masturbating and describing his crimes to an unidentified man in messages as ‘risky w**ks’.
He also told the man he’d been caught in the act a few times, including by children, and asked if that could get him in trouble.
Officers discovered numerous videos of him masturbating in unknown public areas and at his workplace in Warrington. Three videos showed him on a bus: two on 17 April 2019, one on 14 June 2019, and one on 28 June 2019.
They also discovered an indecent image of child, and he was further arrested for this on 18 December 2024.
More digital devices were seized including two phones, a laptop and memory cards. They were interrogated resulting in the discovery of 36 indecent images dated from between 17 February 2019 and 19 December 2024. There were four category A images, 11 category B images and 21 category C images.
DC Phil Jackson said:
“Taylor asked the unidentified man in his messages if he could get into trouble if he’d been seen carrying out a sexual act, especially in front of children. I think he has his answer now – all 27 months of it.
“Everyone should be able to get on a bus or go about their business without having to risk the ordeal of having to witness his perverted behaviour. Our investigation led to us uncovering the level of his worrying, and clearly illegal behaviour, which is why it’s vital you report this type of crime to police.”