Somerset Gimp victim speaks out and hopes convicted man 'gets proper therapy'

06 November 2023 , 10:09

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Joshua Hunt appeared in court after he was unmasked as the Somerset Gimp (Image: Media Exposure)

A man who was confronted by the Somerset Gimp says he hopes he gets "proper therapy" to prevent further incidents in the future.

Alex Warren, 20, was on his way home from the pub with his friend when they came into contact with Joshua Hunt, 32, who was dressed in his all-black gimp suit last October in Cleeve, North Somerset.

The chef, from Yatton, initially laughed and offered him a cigarette but says the creepy encounter still haunts him today. He recalled how he "tensed up" whilst walking to the shop on another occasion following the incident.

Alex said the incident has impacted his day-to-day life (Media Exposure)

Hunt was found guilty of causing intentional harassment, alarm, or distress last week after frightening female motorists in his costume. The self-employed gardener was fined £100 and ordered to pay £200 compensation to each of his victims and £620 in prosecution costs, reports Bristol Live.

He was charged with outraging public decency after he approached Alex and several other victims. The gardener was also banned from using his costume in public at night and "crawling, wriggling or writhing on the ground" for five years.

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Alex has spoken out about the ordeal and said: "Laughing is a direct response to fear. That incident played back in my mind in the weeks after so many times. Different scenarios like 'why didn't you just tackle him?' I'd never want to cause bodily harm - but when you've got everyone saying - 'I would have jumped on him or battered him.' 'You wouldn't have.' I think if I hadn't laughed, they might have kept the charge."

Joshua Hunt has been banned from wriggling and writhing on the ground in a gimp costume (Tom Wren / SWNS)

He added: "It definitely impacted me - anything that happens to anyone impacts them. There were a few incidents afterwards where I could directly link my behaviour to that night. The week after, I was walking back from Cleeve shops. I was already a little bit on edge but played it off. As I walked around the corner, I could see a pretty big guy walking towards me, shrouded in darkness.

"I tensed up and had a can of Monster in my hand ready to batter him because all I could think of after the incident. All the things you don't think of in the moment because you are paralysed trying to process it - because it's so absurd. Nothing in life can prepare you for that."

He also believes that without therapy, Hunt could terroise more victims. "If he reoffends I think depends on how well he is rehabilitated," he said. "I would not be surprised (if he reoffended), but if he gets therapy, then I would be surprised. He needs proper rehab with specialist experts to try and help him. He needs therapy. I don't want to undermine the feelings of the women or the girls who were alone."

Monica Charsley