PAUL REED, CHATHAM SEX OFFENDER, SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS FOR MULTIPLE VICTIM ACCOSTS

In July 2019, Paul Reed, a convicted sex offender from Chatham, was sentenced to three years in prison for a series of disturbing assaults on vulnerable individuals, including schoolgirls, a neighbor, and a rough sleeper.

Reed, who stands at only 4 feet 10 inches, has a long history of offending dating back to 1994, with over 62 offences listed across 28 convictions. Since 2007, he has been subject to court orders banning him from approaching females while dressed as an elderly woman—an old lady guise he adopted to conceal his identity.

Dressed in a coat, woollen hat, and a scarf covering his lower face, Reed lurked at bus stops, train stations, and outside hospitals, preying on unsuspecting victims. Despite prior bans, he frequently breached these orders, engaging in illicit contact such as chatting, holding hands, hugging, and even attempting to kiss women while disguised.

His offending worsened in December 2017, when he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl at a bus stop. Maidstone Crown Court heard he ignored her pleas to stop hugging her, then placed his hand up her school skirt and firmly held her thigh before she managed to escape and hide behind a billboard until her bus arrived.

Reed’s other victims included a neighbor and a homeless woman. He approached them on the street, asking if they were cold and then wrapping a scarf around them or hugging them tightly. He even told one victim her name was Katrina and instructed her to call him Katie, leading her to believe he was a lonely elderly woman seeking companionship.

Of his 62 previous offences, 24 were for breaches of sexual offender orders, most resulting in suspended sentences or community orders. Only once in June 2009 was he jailed, after being convicted of three sexual assault offences.

During sentencing, Judge Adele Williams stated, 'Your behaviour has caused very serious distress.' She noted Reed’s long-standing pattern of behaviour and failure to benefit from prior interventions, leading to her decision that prison was necessary. She also imposed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and ordered him to remain on the sex offender register.

Prosecutor Lucy Luttman detailed the incidents: the December 2017 assault where Reed greeted the teenage girl with false friendliness before assaulting her, and subsequent incidents involving a neighbor and a homeless woman, all of whom believed Reed was a woman due to his disguises and mannerisms. Despite police warnings and bail conditions, Reed continued his offending, targeting vulnerable women and disguising himself when doing so.

Reed was interviewed by police, denying the offences and claiming his clothing was generic. His early offences included luring a 14-year-old into his car in 2009, and he was jailed for 196 days for breaches of his sexual offences prevention order, including spying on a nurse last January.

At Canterbury Crown Court, Judge Michael O’Sullivan acknowledged psychiatrists’ findings that Reed’s cross-dressing is ingrained in his psyche and permitted him to continue wearing women’s clothing but prohibited him from covering his face or approaching women who are not known to him while dressed up.

Reed’s brother, Pat Reed, stated that he had no contact with him since five years prior and described him as never having married or had children, nor holding a job. He expressed little knowledge of Reed’s recent activities, saying, ‘He’s never married and he doesn’t have any children. I don’t think he’s ever had a job.’