A sex offender who repeatedly exposed himself to women walking in Otford has been jailed.
Iskren Ganchev committed offences against three victims in the village over a period of just ten days, between 2 June and 11 June 2022.
Ganchev approached the women in areas close to a footpath off Pickmoss Lane, where he would expose himself whilst committing indecent acts.
During one of the incidents the 35-year-old beckoned to a woman and grabbed her arm. Another victim was able to take a photo of the suspect as she made her way to safety.
CCTV evidence
An investigation established that during all the offences the suspect appeared to be carrying the same shopping bag.
CCTV from a local store, which carried the same branding as the bag, was examined and images of the suspect were retrieved and included in a subsequent media appeal.
Further enquiries then led officers to a location in Halstead, where Ganchev was arrested on 19 June.
Searches at a property where he was living led to the recovery of clothing and shoes he had been wearing during the offences.
During a police interview Ganchev, of no fixed address, accepted he had been present at the locations connected to the allegations but denied any wrongdoing, claiming that on each occasion there had been a misunderstanding.
Guilty
He went on to plead guilty at Medway Magistrates’ Court to a charge of outraging public decency and two counts of indecent exposure.
On Friday 12 August, Ganchev was sentenced a year’s imprisonment. He was also made subject of a sexual harm prevention order, lasting five years.
Detective Sergeant Alan Poulton, of the West Kent Vulnerability Investigation Team, said: ‘Ganchev’s disturbing actions will have had a significant and detrimental impact on each of his victims.
‘His appalling behaviour was carried out in an area very close to a school and would have also caused significant alarm and anxiety within the wider community.
‘In passing a custodial sentence, the courts have recognised the threat that Ganchev would have continued to pose, and we remain determined that everyone should feel safe to walk the streets whenever they choose to, and will continue to do everything in our power to keep it that way.’
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