Disgraced ex-Wes Streeting aide handed suspended prison sentence

A disgraced ex-aide to Health Secretary Wes Streeting has been spared jail after exposing himself to a teenage girl and following her.

Sam Gould, 33, was sentenced on Monday to 22 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years after admitting two counts of exposure earlier this year. Gould, who worked in Mr Streeting's office handling casework, was also made subject to a seven-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) meaning he cannot contact girls under 18 and must pay £239 in legal costs.

The former Labour councillor was seen by a 13-year-old girl masturbating in his parked car in Romford on March 8. He then followed the girl who hid and knocked on nearby flats to try and get help, prosecutors say.

Prosecutor Jeannel Ambrose said the teenager was alone when she saw Gould masturbating in the driver's seat while parked with the windows down. The girl said she ran and also ducked behind bushes, believing the car was following her, the court heard.

Ms Ambrose said the girl also knocked at nearby flats to get help but nobody answered. The teenager said she also saw Gould following her "on foot", the court heard. She asked for help from others and the police were called. Ms Ambrose said Gould specifically targeted a "particularly vulnerable victim".

The 13-year-old girl's mum previously told The Sun her daughter is now scared to leave the house. She said: “We’re meant to be able to trust people in power. It’s worrying to know that he has worked with vulnerable people and school-aged children.”

He was also seen by a woman masturbating while he was seated in a Mini Cooper with the windows down on Patricia Drive in Hornchurch on February 9, Barkingside Magistrates' Court heard. The second victim felt "distressed and violated" after she saw Gould masturbating while she was walking her dog, the court heard.

The former parliamentary candidate was suspended by the Labour Party and resigned from his role as a Redbridge councillor back in March. Earlier this year the Health Secretary Mr Streeting voiced his "horror" over the case. He said: "There are no words to express my horror that a mother and her daughter have been put through this ordeal, and will have to deal with the trauma of it for some time to come. As soon as I was made aware of his arrest he was suspended, and as soon as the guilty plea was entered I took immediate steps to sack him through official HR processes."

Nicholas Jennaway, defending Gould, said he had been going through difficulties at work and his personal life at the time of the incidents and followed the girl in a "very panicked state" to try to talk to her, having not seen her approaching.

He said that Gould, a "shy, introverted person" and a man of previous good character, "apologises profusely" for the harm caused. Gould accepts that his role in public service means he is held to a "higher standard", Mr Jennaway said.