Man who forced soiled underpants down young boy’s throat walks free from court

A man who forced soiled underwear down a young boy’s throat has walked free from court, blaming childhood “trauma” for the attack.

Stanley Haywood, 42, of Cirencester, Gloucestershire, attacked the child moments after he told him he had “had an accident”.

The youngster said he began to “feel scared” after Mr Haywood repeatedly asked him about the mishap.

The child, who had sought help from the 42 year old, remained silent before heading upstairs to clean himself up and change out of his dirty clothes.

The defendant followed the boy upstairs moments later and found him holding a pair of poo-filled underpants.

He then attacked the boy, grabbing the back of his head and pulling his hair back, and used his other hand to stuff the underpants into the child’s mouth, the court heard on Monday (7 February).

Prosecutor Keith Ballinger told Swindon Magistrates’ Court: “He grabbed them from him and then he was grabbed by the defendant by the back of his head.

“He pulled his hair and used his other hand to push the underpants into his mouth.

“Initially he closed his mouth, but the defendant used his hands to open his mouth and push them inside.”

The child’s mother found her son bleeding from the mouth a short time later, and said he had excrement coating his teeth.

The boy was rushed to Great Western Hospital in Swindon where he was assessed by doctors who found bruising to his cheek and the back of his throat.

Luckily no treatment was needed after the incident.

‘Disgusted and horrified’

Mr Haywood was arrested by Wiltshire Police and told officers during an interview in custody that he did not remember most of the incident.

However, he admitted that he was “disgusted and horrified” at his behaviour.

The 42 year old said he was “very stressed” at the time and disclosed that “his father used to do the same to him when he was young”, Mr Ballinger added.

At the time of the offence, Mr Haywood was already serving a community order imposed by Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court for possession of a bladed article in a public place.

The defendant sobbed loudly in the dock throughout the hearing and attended court with a psychiatrist.

The court was told Mr Haywood has a “complex trauma history” and has never received any treatment for his obvious mental health issues.

The defence added that he is a recovering drug addict who was “desperately struggling” at the time of the incident.

Mark Glendenning, defending, said: “He is devastated that he has acted in this way and is ashamed of his actions.”

The court labelled the vile attack as “very humiliating” for the victim and sentenced Mr Haywood to a three-month prison sentence, but suspended it for 18 months.

As part of the suspended sentence order, he is required to complete an 18 month mental health treatment requirement and 25 rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR) days.

The court also ordered him to pay his victim £100 in compensation.

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going. You can also sign up to our newsletters and get a curated selection of our best reads to your inbox every day.