A man has boasted about being a 'wanted man' after he skipped a court hearing for engaging in sex acts with a woman in public. Joe Firby, 23, from Gateshead was caught on camera performing sex acts with Kelly Cousins, 35, in Concert Square in Liverpool.
Joe and Kelly met in the gym and went on a date in Liverpool city centre on August 1, 2022. It was then that explicit videos of the pair, who had both drank heavily, were published on social media sparking a police investigation.
Firby was identified in the footage by his girlfriend at the time, while Cousins was identified by her social worker. Firby was due to appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on September 20, 2022, but emailed the courts to say he had lost his job and did not have the money to hire a solicitor or travel from the North East to Liverpool.
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He then requested he be allowed to appear over video link. Andrew Page, prosecuting, requested a warrant be issued for Firby’s arrest, saying he had ample time to organise his legal representation and travel to Liverpool since he was charged six weeks ago, reports Liverpool Echo.
District Judge Healey said: “He was charged back in August. His first contact with the court was this morning saying he did not have the funds to attend but I do take the point that he has had ample time and take the view that his explanation is not sufficient. Therefore I am convinced to issue a warrant not backed for bail.”
After the 23-year-old skipped the initial court hearing, he took to Facebook to boast about being a "wanted man".
On November 7, 2022, Firby updated his profile picture on Facebook to a picture of him and another man on a boat with the boastful caption: "Not doing bad for a wanted man."
The ECHO contacted Firby for a comment on the caption and he said: "For having two police forces looking for the length of time I was away, I didn’t do too bad for a wanted man like my post said."
Joe Firby, who has no previous convictions, appeared in court for the first time on December 7, 2022 where he pleaded guilty to outraging public decency.
He appeared for sentencing at Sefton Magistrates Court on January 11 and was sentenced to a 12-month community order and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £120 court costs and a £114 surcharge.
When asked by the court if he wanted to say anything in his defence, he replied: "I've got nothing to say."
Cousins, a mum-of-four, also pleaded guilty to the offence, and was given a 10-week suspended prison sentence in November 2022.
She was also ordered to complete 40 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation activity days with the Probation Service. Her solicitor, Heather Toohey, told magistrates that Cousins had been subjected to incessant abuse since the videos went viral and suggested much of the commentary around the case was one-sided and driven by "misogyny".
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