Naked rambler gets longest jail sentence yet

» By Nothing2Say | the 02-09-2010 at 14:05 | 32 views (18 unique) | 2 comments | Report post!

Naked rambler Stephen Gough has been jailed for 21 months for repeatedly walking around nude - and even refusing to put clothes on during his court appearances.

And a planned mass protest by nudists against the treatment of Gough fell flat – when no-one bothered to turn up.

Gough was jailed on Monday at Perth Sheriff Court after being found guilty of breaching the peace, and being in contempt of court by refusing to put clothes on.

Sheriff Lindsay Foulis, who warned Gough he faced the rest of his life behind bars, gave him a final chance to walk free yesterday by agreeing to put trousers on.

But Gough, who had denied his nakedness was a breach of the peace or an affront to the court, refused and was given his longest sentence to date.

He was jailed for a year for walking naked in Perth after being freed from prison and for a further three months for contempt for conducting his trial in the nude. Sheriff Foulis also added the 180 days he had left to serve when he was released midway through his previous 12-month sentence last December.

A group of naturists had started a website campaign to protest about the continued incarceration of Gough and vowed to protest at the court when he next appeared. However, no-one turned up yesterday.

Gough, who had been attempting to walk around Britain naked, was arrested within seconds of being freed from the jail on December 17.

He was found guilty earlier this month of breaching the peace by walking naked in the street and refusing a request by police to put some clothes on in public.

Gough has spent the bulk of the past seven years in jail for 20 identical crimes.