Girl stalked by man on mobility scooter who tried to kidnap her in car park
A man who tried to kidnap a teenage girl after gagging her with duct tape in a terrifying car park attack has been jailed for 11 years.
Kevin Haigh, 53, stalked the 14-year-old for more than a mile on his mobility scooter before pouncing as she sat on some steps waiting for friends behind The Wellow Pub on Kings Road in Cleethorpes on June 3.
Grimsby Crown Court heard the schoolgirl tried to shout for help but Haigh told her to ‘shut up and stay still’ as he struggled to drag her away.
Fortunately, the girl managed to call her boyfriend and dial 999 before Haigh snatched her phone. She then slipped out of her coat and ran off with tape still wrapped around her face.
Haigh, from Cleethorpes, admitted false imprisonment, attempted kidnap to commit a sexual offence and assault.
Judge Mark Bury told him: ‘This was an extremely serious incident. This was planned. You went with duct tape and you followed her.
‘You were in a mobility scooter so you wouldn’t raise suspicions and you committed these offences in a public place in the middle of the day, in broad daylight.
‘This young girl will be an adult by the time you are released.
‘This is the sort of thing that upsets and worries young women and their parents. You pose a significant risk of causing serious harm to members of the public.’
In a victim personal statement read out to the court the girl said she rarely leaves the house now, and never alone.
She also described being plagued with nightmares about the incident, which has also ruined her relationship with male relatives who she cannot even hug without being reminded of the ordeal.
The girl said: ‘It still frightens me when I think of the tape over my eyes and mouth and I could just hear the sucking and grunting noises he was making.
‘I dream of a man grabbing me under my legs and pulling me up and then I dream of sitting in a grey car with the same man driving me around Humberston.
‘I’ve been asked how I feel about him. I thought he was going to rape and kill me and I still believe this would have happened if I hadn’t have got away.’
Humberside Police released an appeal with CCTV images showing Haigh on his mobility scooter.
After receiving an anonymous tip-off from a member of the public they arrested him two days later.
His partner told officers he had told her he had gone to Cleethorpes beach that day to pick up some stones for the garden but had returned home without any.
She also revealed Haigh did not need the mobility scooter, but just preferred to use one.
When detectives trawled through Haigh’s phone they found 1,800 images of schoolgirls along with explicit images of women posing as young girls.
It later emerged in court that he was jailed for 18 months back in 1997 for four indecent assaults against girls under the age of 14.
During his interview at Birchin Way Police Station, Haigh refused to answer any questions, only to say he ‘didn’t touch her’.
However, he revealed more to a prison officer while in custody.
Gordon Stables, prosecuting, said: ‘He told the police officer he had been watching her for a bit.
‘When the prison officer asked if he had done that before he said she was young.
‘The prison officer asked him if he found young women and girls attractive, he said, “I don’t do anything about it, I’m good like that”.’
Haigh also said he had been watching a school close to his house.
The court heard the officer then asked: ‘If you just watch usually what happened this time?’
Haigh blamed ‘not taking his medication’ before adding: ‘I have always been able to control myself.’
He told the officer he was ‘shocked’ by the girl’s strength.
Defending, David Godfrey said: ‘He accepts he falsely detained her to commit a sexual offence.
‘He expresses to me that he is deeply sorry for what he has done and is willing and motivated to work with experts in a custodial setting and while he is on a lengthy licence period.’
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