Conservative councillor told to keep his clothes on at home

A Conservative councillor has been cleared of exposing himself to a nine-year-old girl while cutting a hedge in his swimming trunks. But Peter Goody, 62, who represents Snaresbrook on Redbridge Council, has been told he must take more care to cover up in the future. The schoolgirl, whose identity is protected, had told a court that Mr Goody pulled down the front of his blue trunks as she approached on a public path outside his home in Glengall Road, Woodford Green, on July 28 last year.

But during his trial at Waltham Forest Magistrates Court, which resumed today (Tuesday), Mr Goody, who is a naturist, said he had only a vague recollection of the girl walking past and did not intend to expose himself. “I put swimming trunks on, simply because it seemed the sensible thing to do,” he said. “I was aware that they did have the tendency to slip. I decided that if they did slip down, I would hitch them up.” He said the girl's claim that he had exposed himself and started gyrating was “ludicrous.”



Azeem Kahn, defending, said: “This is a man of impeccable character, who for the past 35 years has been serving his local community as a councillor. He is a naturist, who takes that membership of that group responsibly. This is a case of a man gardening, being there for a lawful purpose and it was his decision to wear a loose fitting pair of trunks, which he kept having to hitch up.”

Magistrates found Mr Goody not guilty, but described his decision to wear the trunks knowing they could come loose as “reckless.” He was placed under a restraining order preventing him from being naked in his house and garden while anyone, including neighbours, might see. The order states that he must wear clothes that “pose no risk of exposure of his genitals,” for an indefinite period.