The 'flashers' who turn into rapists and killers

A RECORD number of rapes, murders and sexual assaults were carried out last year by “flashers” who had previously been convicted for exposing themselves in public.

- BY MATTHEW DAVIS

The statistics from the Ministry of Justice show how flashing sometimes considered a minor crime is effectively a gateway offence to much more serious sexual offending.

The most high-profile example was former Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, who was convicted of the rape, kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, 33.

An inquiry after the murder discovered Couzens had committed a string of indecent exposure offences in the years before the killing, but his crimes were not fully investigated.

The statistics revealed that during the past five years 279 people were convicted of rape who had previously exposed themselves in public, with last year’s tally of 81 being the highest ever.