- So ends an era of rubbery terror. Hopefully.
Somerset is a pretty region in southwestern England, known for its green farmland and beautiful coastline. But for the past few years, the area has been terrorized by a strange fiend.
He is known as the Somerset Gimp.
The mysterious man has caused fear, distress, and general mischief in villages around the Somerset area since 2016. Although he hasn’t actually hurt anyone, encounters with the gimp have still proved scary for the locals.
Clad in a full-body latex or rubber suit, complete with a full-face mask, the Somerset Gimp has appeared from the darkness to local residents in many of the area’s villages. He would simply stand and stare, approach people, or drop to the ground and kind of… Wriggle around.
Yet, the Somerset Gimp’s reign of terror ended in May 2023. That’s when 32-year-old Joshua Hunt was arrested, suspected of being the elusive gimp.
Hunt himself claims he’s innocent. However, there have been no gimp attacks since his arrest, so…
In October, Hunt was ordered to pay fines and compensation to his victims. But in early November, a judge slapped him with one of the most bizarre restrictions we’ve ever heard of.
The courts have prohibited Hunt from wearing and owning masks, which makes sense. But he may also not “writhe” on the ground while wearing a full-body suit of any kind.
You have to be specific with these things, you know?
Years of Fear
Reports of a strange, scary man in a gimp suit began trickling in at some point in 2016. He would emerge from dark alleys or roadside bushes at night to scare local passersby.
Fortunately, he never seemed to attack or physically harm anyone. But how was anyone supposed to know that when the mystery BDSM enthusiasts suddenly slipped out of the darkness?
The “attacks” happened in multiple villages in Somerset, including Claverham, Yatton, Cleeve and Bleadon. But the Somerset Gimp’s notoriety stayed local until 2019.
That’s when a woman managed to snap an honestly pretty terrifying photo of the gimp man. He was “grunting and breathing heavily” as he charged at her, she told BBC at the time.
The photo brought the Somerset Gimp even international fame. Yet, the authorities still didn’t manage to arrest him.
That had to wait until May 2023.
The Culprit or a Copycat?
Following three gimp sightings in May, one of which included the man leaping at a moving vehicle, the police arrested Joshua Hunt. The gardener from Claverham had been connected to the gimp incidents earlier.
At Hunt’s home, the police recovered wet full-body black clothing and several masks on which he had painted eyes and a mouth in neon paint. They also discovered Hunt had done several searches on his mobile phone for the Somerset Gimp.
Hunt readily admitted that he had been behind the May incidents, but he denied being the Gimp himself. In a way, you might be able to believe his claims.
After all, previous descriptions of the gimp—including the 2019 photo—depict a man dressed in either rubber or latex. No such items were reportedly found in Hunt’s possession.
Could it be that he’s just a copycat? Or did he dispose of his previous clothing at some point?
Banned From… What?
Courts don’t seem to see it that way. While it may be impossible to connect Hunt to earlier gimp attacks, he was definitely behind the ones in May.
As such, he was fined a bit over $120 in October 2023. The judge also ordered him to pay nearly $250 to each of his victims in compensation.
In addition, Hunt received a sexual risk order. Under U.K. law, the order prohibits people who have engaged in sexually questionable activity from doing certain things, lest they face criminal prosecution.
In Hunt’s case, the list of prohibited acts is quite a doozy. According to The Guardian, he is banned from:
- Wearing any type of mask or face covering, including improvised mask or face coverings that cover all or part of the face, in any public place, including while in a vehicle in a public place, unless officially required for medical purposes or by law.
- Being in possession of any type of mask or face covering, including improvised masks or face coverings that cover all or part of the face, in a public place, including while in a vehicle in a public place, between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless officially required for medical purposes or by law.
- Wearing or being in possession of black all-in-one garments or any combination of full-length black-colored top and black-colored bottom clothing which has the appearance of an all-in-one garment, in a public place, including in a vehicle in a public place between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
- Crawling, wriggling, or writhing on the ground in a public place while wearing a full-body covering, clothing that appears like a full-body covering, and/or mask/full-face covering.
We’ll just have to see if that’s enough to make the gimp attacks stop.