LESLEY FOSTER FROM CHORLEY TARGETS CHILDREN IN PRESTON TOY STORE

In a disturbing incident that has shocked the community, Leslie Foster, a 63-year-old known sex offender from Chorley, was caught engaging in highly inappropriate and criminal behavior at a Toys R Us store located in Deepdale Retail Park, Preston. The events unfolded on February 1, 2014, when Foster spent approximately eight hours loitering within the store, exhibiting suspicious behavior that ultimately culminated in him targeting a young girl.

Foster was observed on CCTV footage entering and exiting the store multiple times throughout the day, sometimes altering his appearance by donning a woollen hat and glasses in an apparent attempt to evade recognition. The footage showed him coming in and out of the premises at least five times, sometimes after changing his look, which indicated a deliberate effort to avoid detection. His presence in the store was so prolonged and calculated that store staff and police investigators noted his behavior as suspicious and indicative of premeditation.

The victim, a seven-year-old girl from Heysham, was in the store with her father when the incident occurred. She was browsing the aisles, looking for a Barbie doll to spend her birthday money on, when Foster approached her. He initially offered to buy her any toy she wanted, which seemed to be an attempt to gain her trust. However, the situation quickly escalated when Foster winked at her and then exposed himself, making a lewd comment: “show me your knickers and I will give you a pound and I will buy you anything in the shop.”

The young girl, understandably terrified, ran away from him. She was later found sobbing in another aisle by store staff, who immediately called her father and brother via the store’s tannoy system. The distressing details of the attack were corroborated by the victim herself, who later described how the man had shown her his private parts through a hole in his trousers and made the inappropriate offer.

Police and store staff reviewed CCTV footage and identified Foster as the man responsible. His recognition was made possible after a probation officer saw his picture in a local newspaper, which led to his arrest. Foster’s criminal history is extensive, dating back nearly 50 years, with convictions for sex offenses. He served 34 years of a life sentence before being released in December 2012, after authorities deemed him safe to re-enter society. His previous offenses include a series of disturbing acts, starting with his first court appearance at the age of 15 in 1966, when he attacked and molested a 32-year-old woman pushing a pram.

Later that same year, he molested an eight-year-old girl walking alone, and in 1967, he was sent to a secure mental hospital after assaulting and threatening to rape a 76-year-old woman. His violent tendencies persisted, and in May 1978, while a psychiatric patient at Whittingham Hospital in Preston, Foster committed a brutal rape of a 19-year-old girl. He followed her after she disembarked from a bus, dragged her into a shed, and held a penknife to her throat while assaulting her. Foster’s escape was noticed by two boys who saw him fleeing the scene and followed him back to the hospital.

During his incarceration, Foster expressed a sense of resignation, telling hospital staff, “I’ll say I did it to get you off my back. You’re always at me. I’ll be better off inside. let the State keep me.” Despite his life sentence for the 1978 rape, he was released in 2012 under a license, which he subsequently violated.

At Preston Crown Court, Foster appeared without showing any emotion as he was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison for causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. The court heard about his long history of offending, including his first conviction at age 15, and his repeated pattern of targeting vulnerable individuals, often escaping punishment or probation. The judge, Michael Byrne, emphasized the calculated nature of Foster’s recent actions, noting that he deliberately entered the toy store multiple times, sometimes changing his appearance, to approach children.

The victim’s father expressed his profound concern and anger, stating, “I wanted to kill him. My daughter wanted to buy a kind of doll Toys R Us do with her birthday money. It happened in 30 seconds. My children wanted to look at different aisles. I was walking from the skateboard aisle to check on her when I heard the tannoy calling me. My daughter was in tears and the staff told me what had happened. I shouted and shouted for my son because I was afraid the man was still in the store. I was relieved it hadn’t been any worse. It doesn’t seem to have affected her too much luckily, but it may do when she’s older. It’s really affected us. Since it happened I am on pins when I’m out with them, I never let them out of my sight.”

Foster’s case highlights the ongoing risks posed by individuals with a long history of sexual offenses, especially those who have been released from prison under supervision. His actions have prompted renewed calls for stricter monitoring and intervention strategies to protect vulnerable children and the wider public from repeat offenders like him.