A 24-year-old man who approached girls and women before grabbing and sniffing their feet has been sentenced for seven sexual assaults.
Alexander Scott-Bowen, of Kingswood, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on Friday 11 September after previously pleading guilty to seven counts of sexual assault involving seven victims.
Avon and Somerset Police said the offending took place over several years, with the first reports involving three young girls in Yate in January, March and May 2022.
The original investigation was filed after officers were unable to obtain sufficient evidence to bring charges.
However, the cases were reopened after two young girls reported being approached in Kingswood in similar circumstances in March 2025.
Scott-Bowen was identified as a suspect and arrested on 11 March 2025. Detectives subsequently linked him to the earlier offences after his DNA was found on the shoelace of one victim’s trainer. Police also recovered distinctive clothing matching a description provided by a victim.
While Scott-Bowen was on police bail, two girls were approached at Cribbs Causeway on New Year’s Eve 2025 and a woman was approached in Stoke Gifford on 21 January 2026 in similar circumstances.
Police said Scott-Bowen would begin conversations with victims about their feet or footwear, often complimenting them, before suddenly grabbing a foot and sniffing it.
Following his final arrest in January, officers examined his mobile phone and found material which police said was indicative of a foot fetish.
Scott-Bowen pleaded guilty to all seven sexual assault charges on 6 July.
He was sentenced to 38 weeks in prison, but was released because the custodial term had already been served while he was being held on remand since January.
Scott-Bowen was also made subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
Detective Sergeant Mike Coleman said police had treated the incidents as “a series of sexual attacks against predominantly young girls” and thanked the victims for coming forward and assisting the investigation.
