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UK Man Convicted after Trying to Stop Homosexual Sex in Public with Video Camera

By Hilary White and John Jalsevac

BOSTON, UK, June 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A UK man who became fed up with homosexuals meeting for sex in the local park, has received a suspended jail sentence for his attempts to shame them into stopping by using his video camera. Colin Anthony Haw, 47, of Mayflower Road, Boston, in Lincolnshire, was called a “vigilante” by the court who said his campaign to stop the activities of the local homosexual community was a threat to a “vulnerable” minority.

Haw, a self-employed mechanic and a father of two children, said that he had reported to police the ongoing activity in a wooded area near his home area, but that his complaints were ignored. He admitted to a public order offense after one man who had been filmed found the footage on the internet and complained to the police.

Haw was convicted by Boston Magistrates’ Court and sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for a year and a half, and was given 200 hours community service.

Chairman of the bench Pat Walsh told Mr Haw, “Your actions were premeditated and quite deliberate in targeting a group of people we would describe as vulnerable.

“Our thoughts were to send you to custody but we are not going to do that today.”

Despite Britain’s public decency laws, homosexuals routinely meet for sex in public lavatories in parks and other public places such as bus stations, train stations, airports and University campuses, calling the activity by the slang term “cottaging.”

“Guidance” released by the Deputy Chief Constable Michael Cunningham last year said that UK police officers should balance the law with the “human rights of those people who frequent open spaces for the purposes of having sexual relationships with other like-minded people.” (See coverage here)

The guidance report by Cunningham complained that previous activity on the part of police officers to stop public sex has alienated the homosexual community. The report blames law enforcement for leading to homosexual "self-harm," citing the fact that some homosexuals have attempted suicide who "may have been arrested, charged or come into contact with the police in such a situation." 

Outside of Court, Haw told the Daily Mail, “We didn't go in there to cause people harm. We reported it on several occasions to the police. We tried to name and shame them but we didn't have any intention of causing them distress. We didn't put up any pornographic material.

“In our videos in Boston we have also brought attention to all the rubbish and the drug users who have thrown their syringes on the floor.

“We were not out to cause any trouble. The police wanted it covered up.

“I've got nothing against homosexual people but what gives them the authority to do it in public?”

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