An Exeter pervert who drove to Bristol with "specially adapted trousers", so he could expose himself to youngsters, has heard from top judges that he deserved every day of his tough five-year jail term.
John Clements lurked near a playground in Horfield, Bristol, after travelling up from his home in Exeter where his methods were already "well known to local police".
The veteran offender asked two schoolgirls the time before exposing himself through a specially tailored hole in his trouser crotch, Judge Anthony Russell QC told London's Appeal Court.
Both girls - aged 11 and 12 - were left profoundly shocked by their ordeal, while their mother later submitted a "sensible and restrained" victim impact statement explaining the effect of Clements' crime.
"Her view of the world had been changed and her suspicions increased," said the judge, who added that the mother felt shocked and angry that a children's play area could have been violated in this way.
Clements' car was discovered by police near the scene, the court heard, with the offending kinky trousers inside the vehicle.
The 46-year-old, of Margaret Road, Exeter, was caged for five years in January after he admitted exposure and breaching a previous sexual offences prevention order (SOPO).
Judge Russell, sitting with Mr Justice Kenneth Parker, said Clements already had an "appalling record" for crimes of exposure against adults.
But his latest offence - committed in January last year - revealed a dangerous "escalation" in his twisted activities, said the judge.
The SOPO, which Clements infringed by straying into the playground, had barred him from unsupervised contact with under-age girls.
Lawyers for Clements challenged the total five-year term with claims that it was "just too long" - particularly since no physical contact took place.
But Judge Russell said the sentence was tough but fair.
"He set out purposefully to commit the offence of exposure, equipping himself with cut away trousers to facilitate the commission of the offence.
"He chose to travel to a city well away from the area where his activities were well known to police, and he targeted children which indicated an escalation in his offending.
"The sentence was undoubtedly severe but, given the exceptional circumstances of the case, we don't regard it as either wrong in principle or manifestly excessive," the judge concluded, dismissing the appeal.
