Stephen Hind, a 39-year-old man of no fixed address, was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court for a series of offences including indecent exposure, theft, breaching a sexual harm prevention order, and breaching a suspended sentence order. The incidents occurred in Nottingham during 2025, highlighting a pattern of escalating criminal behaviour despite prior judicial leniency.
The first offence took place on April 19, 2025, outside a victim's address in Hyson Green, Nottingham. As detailed by prosecutor Annabel Lenton, the woman heard a noise and looked out of her window to see Hind standing there with a can of alcohol in his hand. He was shouting declarations of love towards her while touching himself sexually. Disturbed by the act, she promptly called the police. Upon arrest, Hind claimed he had been urinating, but he was charged with indecent exposure. In August 2025, he was handed a sexual harm prevention order and a 10-month suspended sentence for other offences, giving him an opportunity to avoid immediate imprisonment.
Tragically, Hind squandered this chance just four days later. After being arrested for shoplifting a bottle of wine from an Iceland store and another from a Tesco store, he was taken to a police custody suite. There, he made vile sexual remarks to a female police officer and, in a brazen act, exposed himself by touching himself sexually in front of her. The officer instructed him to 'put it away', and later provided a victim impact statement expressing how the incident made her feel uneasy and undeserving of such treatment. Judge Julie Warburton, presiding over the case, remarked on Hind's extensive criminal history, noting his 67 convictions for 165 offences, a stark contrast to his previous career in retail management.
- First Incident: Indecent exposure outside a woman's home in Hyson Green on 2025-04-19, involving sexual self-touching while shouting affectionate declarations.
- Second Incident: Indecent exposure and sexual remarks in police custody shortly after shoplifting offences, breaching the recently imposed orders.
In mitigation, Katie Hodgkinson explained that Hind's downward spiral began after family bereavements, leading him to alcohol dependency and repeated 'foolish mistakes' due to feelings of worthlessness. She highlighted his desperation for rehabilitation, quoting him as saying he was 'sick of getting into trouble and letting people down'. Despite this, Judge Warburton expressed a lack of confidence in his ability to reform, given the rapid breach of his suspended sentence. Hind pleaded guilty to all charges.
The court imposed a total custodial sentence of 22 months. Additionally, Hind will remain on the sex offenders' register for 10 years and subject to an ongoing eight-year sexual harm prevention order. This case, reported by Nottinghamshire Live and covered by courts correspondent Martin Naylor on November 11, 2025, underscores the challenges in addressing recidivism among offenders with complex personal histories.