'Concern for cats' led to theft of knickers

A woman from Goginan, west Wales, woke at 4am to find a neighbor standing by her bed, a court was told. James Wilmot, 60, asked Jennifer Higginson if her cats were okay and then left with a pair of her knickers in his pocket. Swansea Crown Court heard there was still no real explanation for his “bizarre and terrifying behaviour”. Wilmot, then of Llys Awel, Goginan, admitted burglary. John Lloyd, prosecuting, said both Wilmot and Miss Higginson had been to the village pub on 15 May, although they spoke to each other only to say “hello”. Miss Higginson became unwell and the landlord helped her home. At 4am the following morning, she woke to find Wilmot in her bedroom. She asked him “what the hell are you doing here?” and he responded by asking her about her cats. She telephoned the police and Wilmot was arrested at his home 30 yards away. Officers found her knickers in one of his pockets. Janet Gedrych, representing Wilmot, said he had become concerned as to whether she had recovered but, by coincidence, as he walked past her house on his way home, he stumbled and smashed a downstairs window with his head. He then became concerned that the broken glass might harm Miss Higginson’s cats and thought he should warn her about the damage he had caused.
Miss Gedrych said the prosecution wanted to allege that he had climbed through the broken window, but Wilmot maintained he had entered the house through an unlocked front door. She said there was no explanation as to why he stole the knickers, but he may have taken the clothing to wipe blood off his cut head. It would be easy, she added, to jump to the conclusion that there was a sexual motive behind the theft but that was not the case The judge, Mr Recorder Geraint Walters, said neither side could explain why Wilmot really entered the house, or how he got in or why he stole the knickers.
But he warned Wilmot: “It must have been terrifying for her to find you standing by her bed at four in the morning. You scared the living daylights out of her. She is bound to find the theft of the knickers sinister and troubling.” Wilmot, a retired lorry driver, had been ordered to move away from Llys Awel as part of his bail conditions and now lives in Aberystwyth. He was jailed for 12 months, suspended for two years, and ordered to undergo an alcohol awareness activity. He was also made the subject of a five-year restraining order banning any contact with Miss Higginson. Mr Recorder Walters warned Wilmot that if he breached the order he would receive a jail sentence of up to five years. Wilmot was also placed under a 7pm to 7am curfew for the next four months.