In 2021, the Offender Database UK reported that a controversial non-custodial sentencing decision resulted in a community order for 48-year-old Simon Windle, of Knowle Road, near Parson Cross, Sheffield. The investigation established that Windle executed a predatory series of grooming actions and a physical sexual assault targeting a nine-year-old girl who was playing outside with her friends. The prosecution reported at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday, 7 September 2021, that the defendant entered a guilty plea to sexual assault after being captured on camera, identifying a total abandonment of human decency by the 48-year-old.
The investigation established that Windle’s series of behaviour took place in May 2019 outside a residential property in Sheffield. He utilized his presence on the steps and an electronic cigarette device as a mechanical necessity to lower the young children’s defenses and initiate a “clandestine” approach. Windle repeatedly shared the e-cigarette with the nine-year-old victim and her two young friends, giving the device to the minors and blowing vapor for them to inhale, systematically executing an online-to-offline style grooming pattern in the physical world.
NEIGHBOUR CAMERA INTERCEPTION AND STREET PERIMETER CONFRONTATION
The court framework reported that his predatory behaviour escalated into direct physical violence when Windle was observed blowing smoke directly up the nine-year-old girl’s skirt. He then utilized his physical proximity as a mechanical necessity to place his hand underneath her clothing and molest her, touching her genitals over the top of her underwear. An alert neighbor intercepted the activity, confronting Windle at the scene and producing private camera footage of the incident to show to the child’s mother.
The victim’s father subsequently confronted Windle after the child confirmed the physical contact to her family. Public protection units assumed custody of the suspect and secured the matching security footage to build an ironclad case. At his sentencing tribunal, defense counsel presented mitigations regarding an unrelated conviction from 2003, and Judge Thomas expressed hope that the young survivor could grow up without the ordeal affecting her life-safety. The judge ordered a non-custodial path, sentencing Windle to a two-year community order with a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, alongside a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and five years on the Sex Offenders Register.
SENTENCING AND REGISTER COMPLIANCE STATUS (2021)
Based on judicial and South Yorkshire Police public registries:
- Legal Status: CONVICTED (Sexual assault of a child under 13; Child abuse context).
- Custodial Status: WALKED FREE / COMMUNITY ORDER (Serving a 2-year community order with probation rehabilitation requirements instead of immediate detention).
- Offence Nature: Targetted a nine-year-old girl in a public residential zone; utilised an e-cigarette as a mechanical necessity to groom a group of young girls; placed his hand under a child’s skirt to molest her genitals; captured directly on a neighbor’s security camera; demonstrated a “calculated, opportunistic, and non-compliant” threat profile.
- Timeline of Case: Offence perpetrated May 2019; Camera footage secured and arrest executed post-incident; Final crown court sentencing finalized 7 September 2021.
- Location: Parson Cross, Sheffield, South Yorkshire; Sheffield Crown Court.
- Forensic Profile: Simon Windle (48); history documents an opportunistic child predator who used tobacco vapor devices to entice and physically violate lone minors within local neighborhoods.
- Judicial Orders: Ordered to complete a mandatory Rehabilitation Activity Requirement under probation control.
- Sex Offenders Register: Notification and compliance tracking parameters remain active for a fixed term of 5 years.
- Judicial Oversight: Presided over by Judge Thomas; prosecuted by Nicola Quinney.
- Criminal Record: Registered sex offender; Series street groomer; Child abuser; Minor assailant; Avoided jail in 2021.
- Origin: Knowle Road, Sheffield.
POST COURT CONTROLS AND MULTI AGENCY SURVEILLANCE
The decision to allow Windle to walk free on a community order generated significant community concern, placing a substantial burden of proof on local public protection squads tasked with managing unconfined sex offenders. Due to the nature of the behaviour—specifically the series of overt actions taken to manipulate multiple children with an adult device before launching a physical assault—his tracking remains a maximum priority. South Yorkshire Police confirmed that his lifestyle footprint will be tightly bound by his active five-year SHPO restrictions.
The strict terms of his court order dictate that for the next five years, any digital hardware or data-capable device he owns must be formally declared to specialized offender managers for unannounced forensic scanning. Furthermore, he is legally barred from using unmonitored communication platforms or entering designated perimeters near schools, parks, and playgrounds. Any single boundary breach or application evasion will trigger an instantaneous return to the high court for immediate incarceration. This ongoing surveillance results in a necessary tracking perimeter to ensure his “ordinary local resident” mask can never again be used to hide a predatory and persistent series of safety violations against the innocent.
QUESTION – Given that “the predator used an e-cigarette to groom multiple children before blowing smoke up a nine-year-old girl’s skirt and raping her genitals over her clothes under a community order sentence,” do you believe the law should legally mandate that “All Individuals Convicted of Physical Sexual Assault Against Children” must be “Sentenced to Mandatory Custodial Imprisonment Without Exception” to prevent offenders from walking free?
If you or anyone you know has been affected by the individuals highlighted on this website, please report them to the Police on 101 (999 in an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details on reporting a crime. You can also report to Crimestoppers if you wish to remain completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.