Man who sprayed bottle of semen on women jailed

A man who sexually assaulted several women in shops by spraying liquid containing his semen on them has been jailed.

William Kidd, 27, was convicted of 25 offences and sentenced to four years imprisonment in a hearing at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.

At a previous hearing, he pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of sexual assault, eight counts of filming women underneath their clothing and one count of possession of cannabis - but he changed his pleas to guilty at the hearing on Friday.

He previously pleaded guilty to five counts of voyeurism.

The court heard Kidd, of no fixed abode, committed a number of offences against women in shops in the Macclesfield and Handforth areas of Cheshire and the Denton area of Greater Manchester from May to September 2025.

He was caught on CCTV following a number of women around various shops before spraying liquid from a bottle onto them, without their knowledge. He was also recorded filming some women from behind, underneath their clothing.

When asked why he was spraying the liquid at women, he told one security guard, "I'm a sex addict", and another, "I did it to get a sexual thrill".

In an investigation supported by Greater Manchester Police, Cheshire Police issued an appeal for information, releasing a CCTV image of Kidd and asking for the public's help to identify him.

A search of his mobile phone revealed the full extent of his offending.

Speaking after the sentencing, Senior Crown Prosecutor Shannen Carey, a specially trained lawyer in the Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) Mersey‑Cheshire's Rape and Serious Sexual Offences unit, said: "Over a period of around four months last summer, William Kidd became a prolific offender targeting women who were completely unaware of what he was doing and were simply shopping.

"Kidd clearly gave no thought at all to how these women would feel.

"The effect of what he did will no doubt stay with the victims for a long time, and he is now a convicted sex offender."

She said the CPS wanted to thank the victims for their help in bringing this prosecution, and the retail staff at the stores where the offending took place for their assistance in providing evidence.

"We would also like to thank Cheshire Police for their meticulous investigation," she added.

Det Con Tiffany Berry-Perkin from Cheshire Police said she commended the victims in this case for the strength and bravery they had shown throughout this investigation.

"It is thanks to their continued support that our team was able to gather an overwhelming body of evidence against Kidd, leaving him with no option but to plead guilty," she said.

"Kidd deliberately targeted innocent women as they went about their everyday lives, entirely unaware of the depraved acts he was committing against them."

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