A couple who had sex in a pizza delivery shop as staff worked on the other side of the counter have been spared jail but told they must sleep apart for almost six months.
Daniella Hirst and Craig Smith were caught on CCTV engaging in a sex act and having sex in the Domino’s Pizza, on Castle Road, in Scarborough.
Magistrates in the resort told the pair on Tuesday that the offence was serious enough for them to be jailed but instead opted to give them community orders, including 23 week long curfews at separate addresses, monitored by electronic tags.
(Crown Prosecution Service/PA)
“You were both very close to going to prison,” chairman of the bench Charles Davis told the pair.
He said: “It was a brazen offence, committed in a public place over a prolonged period and in the presence of staff.”
Magistrates watched 10 minutes of the footage showing the pair’s activities in the pizza shop in February.
The video showed the couple ordering food and messing around with a yellow cleaning cone before Hirst performs oral sex on Smith.
The Domino’s Pizza takeaway in Scarborough (Anna Gowthorpe/PA)
They are then seen having sex while leaning on the counter close to the till.
Staff can be seen working in the kitchen as the couple continue their antics and delivery staff come and go during the footage.
Mr Davis told the couple that there was “no identifiable victim”, no pre-planning and the pair were clearly under the influence of drink.
But he said: “The potential for harm was significant. But, it seems to us, that the harm caused was to the public who were outraged after the CCTV was released on social media.”
Hirst, 29, of Gypsey Road, Bridlington, pleaded guilty to outraging public decency at a hearing last month.
(Anna Gowthorpe/PA)
Smith, 31, of Field Road, Bridlington, was found guilty of the same offence after a 30-minute long trial.
Both were given 12 months long community orders. This included an order to observe a curfew between 7pm and 7am for 23 weeks, wear an electronic tag and perform a rehabilitation activity requirement – 10 days for Hirst and 15 days for Smith.
Smith was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.
Earlier, Scott McLoughlin, defending, told the court: “There’s no victim in this case. Not a single statement was produced by the crown from anyone who’s been outraged by what they’ve seen.”
The solicitor added: “The greatest harm has been caused to both of them. This is something that has escaped into the world through no fault of their own.”
He said: “You can only imagine the deep embarrassment of being their position.”
Mr McLoughlin said: “This was essentially one drunken night in which they got a bit rowdy and a bit silly.
“Drink got the better of them and they went a bit too far.”
The court heard Hirst had previous convictions for theft and minor public order matters.
Smith committed the offence while on licence after been released from prison sentences totalling 15 months for violence, the magistrates were told.
He left court clearly unhappy.