April 2008 ‘SATANIST WANTED BETTER PRISON FOOD’ A PERVERT who admitted sexually assaulting a young girl claimed to be a devil worshipper because he thought it would mean he could get better food in prison. The bizarre claim was aired at Carlisle Crown Court yesterday as lawyers dealt with the case of 45-year-old trucker Gary Pickering. He was jailed for three years. The court heard how Pickering, of Friar’s Road, Penrith, had admitted sexually touching the girl in November last year after watching a pornographic film. Police found traces of his DNA on the child’s clothes. His barrister Gerard Doran claimed the offence had been a “momentary lapse.” The barrister went on to explain why Pickering had told a probation worker that was a devil worshipper. Mr Doran said: “Pickering thought he would be able to request different and perhaps better food.” He said Pickering suggested that inmates from non-Christian religions were ‘taken [more] seriously’ in the prison system. But Pickering was not religious and does not worship the devil, said the barrister. Responding to Pickering’s attitude to an interview with a psychiatrist, Judge Barbara Forrester said that he had seemed “manipulative.” Pickering had claimed he did not want to talk about his sexual offences because he feared this would be aired in court, reported in the press and used against him. But he was willing to discuss his sexual feelings further after being sentenced. Mr Doran said Pickering had been open about his use of pornography, and he had expressed shame for what he had done to the girl. Passing sentence, Judge Forrester said that Pickering’s psychological background assessment had exposed his unacceptable sexual behaviour in the past and a seemingly casual sexual abuse of his victim. She said there was a significant risk that he could offend again if he were given the chance to do so. The judge said she was worried that Pickering had seen nothing wrong with the way he had behaved. As well as being jailed, Pickering was put on the Sex Offenders’Register for an indefinite period and barred from ever having unsupervised contact with any child under 16. He was also barred from working with children for an indefinite period.