A 23-year-old man from Hoole has been ordered to tell police before he has sex – despite being cleared of the string of sexual offences he was accused of by eight different women.
Nick Crawshaw was sensationally slapped with an interim Sexual Risk Order by the courts on Friday (October 21), just three days after a jury unanimously found him not guilty of six counts of rape, two of assault by penetration and three of sexual assault following a retrial.
But Cheshire police successfully applied for the order at Chester Magistrates Court , so Mr Crawshaw is now required to disclose ‘any intention to engage in sexual activity with a female as soon as practicable prior to any sexual activity taking place’ until a further hearing next week.
Terms of the order
The name, address, date of birth and contact details of any woman he intends to have sexual contact with must also be provided to police.
Mr Crawshaw is also banned from engaging in sexual activity in any public place or on any licensed premises, from ‘directly or indirectly’ approaching or communicating with any of the complainants, and from being in or within the boundaries of any licensed premises between 9pm and 6am.
Orders prohibiting an individual from having sex without informing the police beforehand are rare, and Mr Crawshaw’s is believed to be second only to Yorkshire man John O’Neill.
Mr Crawshaw insisted throughout both his trials that the women’s accusations were false – that some of the alleged incidents never happened and that where sexual contact did occur it was entirely consensual.
But Cheshire Constabulary explained that they sought the order to ‘reduce risk and keep people safe’.
The force’s Assistant Chief Constable Mark Roberts told the Chronicle: “This course of action has been taken by Cheshire police to prevent the risk of sexual harm to the public.
“It is our priority to protect our communities and we are determined to take any appropriate steps we can to reduce risk and keep people safe.”
Mr Crawshaw will appear before Chester Magistrates Court again on November 2, when a full hearing relating to his Sex Risk Order will be held.
