BRYAN SEARS FLASHSCHOOLGIRLS IN WALNEY AND ESCAPES JAIL

In April 2006, a disturbing case involving Bryan Sears, a resident of Walney, drew significant public outrage after he was spared imprisonment despite admitting to multiple indecent exposure charges. Sears, aged 59 and now residing in Long Bank, Walney, was found guilty of exposing himself to young girls on several occasions, causing distress to victims and their families alike.

Over the course of his offending, Sears was caught peering through windows around his former home in Walney, where he would stand naked at a back bedroom window and a downstairs window, deliberately exposing himself to passersby, including schoolchildren. His actions targeted three victims in total: a mother and her 14-year-old daughter, as well as another schoolgirl, all of whom were traumatised by his indecent conduct.

The court proceedings revealed that Sears had pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent exposure, which occurred on different dates—specifically in July 2004, June of the previous year, and between March 1 and April 30 of the last year. Initially, he faced a total of 11 allegations, but the prosecution accepted his guilty pleas at an earlier hearing, leading to a reduced number of charges.

Despite the severity of his actions, Sears was handed a sentence that many in the community found inadequate. He was ordered to register as a sex offender for five years, a measure intended to monitor his activities and prevent further offenses. Additionally, he received a two-year community rehabilitation order aimed at addressing his behaviour and a six-month prison sentence, which was suspended for two years under supervision.

The victim’s mother expressed her profound disappointment and anger over the court’s decision. She stated, “I am totally, totally disgusted. We have been through hell over this. He just hasn’t been punished at all and is still free to walk around as if he did nothing wrong. I think the sentence was a load of rubbish, he should have got more than that.”

During the hearing, Sears’s defence attorney, Martin Hackett, emphasized that his client was a man of previously good character, which may have influenced the court’s decision. Nonetheless, the community and victims’ families continue to grapple with the sense of injustice stemming from the relatively lenient sentence handed down in this troubling case.