A man who persistently called police to indulge his foot fetish has been sentenced for malicious communications.
Richard Cove posed as an elderly woman and called 101 to report trivial matters, before going on to ask call handlers personal questions including the size of their feet.
He also attempted to manipulate them into saying the phrases ‘cheesy feet’ or ‘smelly feet’.
He used a number of false names including ‘Helen Cheeseman’, as he made more than 30 101 calls between June 2023 and September 2024.
On one particular day, Cove made 60 calls to the non-emergency number from his mobile device, withholding his number each time.
He also contacted specific departments and a specific officer from Sussex Police, who was able to link the calls and identify Cove as the suspect.
In total, his calls amounted to more than three hours of wasted police time.
The 49-year-old, of Boundary Road, Worthing, was arrested and charged with malicious communications.
He pleaded guilty at Worthing Magistrates Court on 8 April and was bailed to appear at the same court on Monday 7 July, where he was sentenced to 10 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 24 months. He was issued with a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order preventing him from contacting 999 unless in a genuine emergency and stipulating that he uses his real name and does not withhold his telephone number. He must report non-emergency matters in person at a police station, providing correct details. He was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work and pay court costs of £85.
Investigating officer, Rose Horan, said: “Our phone lines are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to enable the public to contact us with genuine enquiries or crime reports, or in the event of an emergency.
“A number of police staff reported strikingly similar conversations from withheld numbers which we were able to link to Richard Cove. Cove pretended to be an elderly woman so that he could manipulate call takers into giving him time and attention.
“He specifically targeted female officers, some in busy departments dealing with serious sexual offences and online child abuse, wasting scarce public resources to indulge his sexual fetish.”
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