John Guscott, from Chatham, guilty of dozens of sex attacks, assaults and robberies in Medway, Sittingbourne and Whitstable
Published: 13:00, 04 December 2015
Updated: 13:34, 04 December 2015
A prolific sex offender could be jailed for life after being found guilty of almost 100 sexual assaults, exposures, robberies and robbery bids.
It can now be revealed for the first time that John Guscott stood trial last month and was convicted of 37 offences.
A reporting restriction, which was put in place because of a possible further trial, was lifted after the 43-year-old, of Kemp Close, Chatham, admitted 10 more offences - despite claiming he cannot recall committing any.
Judge Philip Statman adjourned sentence until February 19 and said he would need to consider dangerousness.
Guscott denied 19 charges of sexual assault, eight of robbery, six of assault causing actual bodily harm, four of attempted robbery, two of exposure and one of attempted sexual assault.
He was convicted of all the offences except one of attempted sexual assault, one of robbery and one of attempted robbery.
Today, Guscott faced 14 more charges. He admitted seven more sexual assaults, two of actual bodily harm and one of robbery.
He denied outraging public decency, exposure, actual bodily harm and sexual assault, and they were left on the court file.
Prosecutor Peter Forbes said at the start of the trial that Guscott committed a series of stranger attacks, mostly on lone women or girls out walking mainly in the Medway towns, but also in Sittingbourne and Whitstable.
There were 40 separate incidents on 20 days spanning January to November last year.
“Broadly speaking, half are sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults,” said Mr Forbes. “A quarter are robberies or attempted robberies.
“Most of the remainder of the charges are assaults causing actual bodily harm to simple exposure.”
Mr Forbes said it could be demonstrated that the attacks were linked to one man - Guscott. The issue was identification. Guscott claimed it was not him.
He was linked to the series of offences after his fingerprints were found on money off vouchers stolen from one of the victims.
"On some dates there are multiple offences - sometimes five in a day, sometimes only one" - Prosecutor Peter Forbes
“From that point, once the fingerprint was identified, the offences committed by Mr Guscott began to unfold,” said Mr Forbes.
“When he was arrested he had in his possession a mobile phone which police were able to confirm had been stolen from one of the victims months before.
“When his car was searched another phone was discovered, which was linked to one of the complainants who was robbed.”
The phone data was analysed and linked with camera shots from automatic number plate readers. There was a significant match between the movements of Guscott’s van and the offences being committed.
“On some dates there are multiple offences - sometimes five in a day, sometimes only one,” said Mr Forbes.
“Sometimes the allegations are miles apart, but his van can be seen to have moved from the Medway towns to Sittingbourne to Whitstable for further offending.”
Guscott travelled around in his job as a steel fixer. For many of the 20 days in which the offences were committed, he was not at work.
Despite his face often being covered by a scarf or balaclava, there were positive identifications for nine of the offences.
Mr Forbes said significant items were recovered when Guscott’s home and vehicles were searched. They included two balaclavas, motorcycle gloves and hoodies.
Mr Forbes said five offences involving five women were committed on January 13 last year in the space of just over two hours - three of robbery, one of exposure and one of sexual assault.
Two of the robberies were in Gillingham and the other in Rainham. The sex offences were committed in Sittingbourne.
Mr Forbes said in light of the total convictions there would not be a trial on any further offences which had been considered.
But he added: “I underline that should any new matters come to light, of course the Crown doesn’t bind itself in respect of further matters.”
Michael Haynes, defending, told the judge: “The position has now changed. Mr Guscott has accepted all the offences indicated must be right, and he must be responsible for those matters.
“He still maintains he doesn’t have a recollection of the offences. If that is right, clearly a psychiatric report is needed.”
Judge Statman described the crimes as “a campaign of offending against women” and said either an extended sentence or life would be considered.
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Keith Hunt