PETER LIN DON SENTENCED TO JAIL IN BROMBOROUGH FOR OFFENSE AGAINST 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL

In May 2001, Peter Lindon was sentenced to 12 months in prison after pleading guilty to indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl in a Merseyside pub. The incident occurred at the Brown Cow public house in Bromborough on the evening of January 28 the previous year. Lindon, aged 30 and of Allport Road, Bromborough, had taken advantage of the girl after she asked him for a cigarette.

Judge Denis Clark emphasized the importance of protecting children from their own naivety and recklessness. He stated, “Children of 14 are to be protected against their own stupidity and lack of experience and maturity. They are not to be taken advantage of.” The judge recognized that the girl had been flirtatious and intoxicated, but made it clear that the law condemns such exploitation.

The judge described the assault as a dreadful experience for the victim, especially within the confined space of a toilet cubicle. While acknowledging Lindon had been aware of the case for some time, he pointed out that the victim had also endured considerable distress.

During the court hearing, Mr. Cowan explained that the girl and her friends had been lingering outside the pub after being asked to leave earlier. They then entered the pub, where Lindon made the inappropriate proposition—stating he would give her a cigarette if she performed a sex act—and followed her to the toilets. Lindon’s actions were driven by alcohol, and he believed the girl was consenting as she did not resist physically.

Defense attorney Janet Reaney highlighted that despite Lindon’s previous convictions, he had no prior sexual offenses and viewed this incident as an aberration. She stated, “It was not a predatory act by him,” adding that Lindon had reflected on his actions for 15 months and no longer behaved cavalierly.

Lindon was ordered to register on the Sex Offenders’ Register for ten years. Additionally, the court heard that since his arrest, he had been living with his father at Nercwys Mountain Road, near Mold, and had been ordered to stay away from Wirral area.