Chatham's Paul Reed in prison for disguising himself as an old lady to touch women
Published: 10:53, 16 April 2019
Updated: 12:20, 16 April 2019
A man, who has convictions for dressing up as an old lady to touch women, is back behind bars.
Paul Reed, who has a criminal record for sex offences, had been banned from using his disguise to prey on unsuspecting women.
Now, the 57-year-old from Chatham has admitted 11 offences, including two sex assaults in November and December and nine breaches of an order banning him from covering his face or approaching, touching or communicating with women.
Reed, of Gordon Avenue, was remanded in custody until May when he will be sentenced.
Defence barrister John Fitzgerald told Maidstone Crown Court that a psychiatric report will be prepared.
After being jailed for three years in 2009, he was made the subject of a sex offences prevention order – banning him from posing as a woman.
But in 2012 Canterbury Crown Court was told how in January a nurse at Pembury Hospital was approached by Reed, who she believed to be an elderly woman who was cold.
Reed, who was then living in Clements Close, Canterbury, was spotted conning women near Maidstone and Pembury hospitals.
The diminutive Reed, who wore a woollen hat and scarf to disguise his features, began rubbing his hands as he chatted with the nurse about the weather.
Reed linked arms and huddled towards the nurse making her feel “very uncomfortable”, the court heard.
Earlier, he was spotted at Maidstone railway station and Maidstone Hospital - again posing as an old lady to talk to young girls.
At the time his defence lawyer, Kerry Moore, told the judge: “Mr Reed has had an element of transvestism since childhood, his first memory being when he was 11. He desires to wear women's clothes.
"He now accepts he is a transvestite and regards women as the gentler sex. As a child he was bullied and wasn’t regarded as a man because of his stature.
"He does this because he seeks comfort rather than getting any sexual gratification."
Reed denied two other charges of sex assaults in January and March and the Crown Prosecution Service is not expected to seek a trial.
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