Leeds Olympic pervert may be spared jail

Declan Crosbie, 25, was caught peering over the top of cubicles as members of the team were getting changed at Leeds University’s The Edge centre

He had been due to be sentenced at Leeds Crown Court but the hearing was adjourned yesterday so he can be assessed to see if he is suitable for a sex offenders’ programme.

Crosbie, of Lea Park Place, Kirkstall, pleaded guilty to trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.

Members of the Chinese team, who were training at the pool ahead of the Olympics, made a complaint after spotting him looking over the top of cubicles while they were changing.

When staff at the centre went to find him he hid in a cubicle and tried to answer them in a woman’s voice. He then came out and begged them not to call the police before running away.

Crosbie was jailed for three years in 2009 after trespassing in a private home and being found standing over a sleeping student, whose trousers had been pulled down.

He also has convictions for voyeurism in 2005 and 2006.

The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier QC, heard Crosbie should have entered a sex offenders’ programme while in jail but was never allocated a place.

“It seems then that the most important thing that I can do for the public is try to ensure you do receive the treatment that you need,” he said. “There’s clearly no better prospect of you receiving that in prison now than there was in 2009.”

He told Crosbie he needed to be assessed in a bail hostel until being sentenced on September 17.