- Jul 7, 2003
- 47,645
A 50-year-old busker who performs dressed as a leprechaun has said children "oozed joy" at hearing his music - unaware of his conviction for child abuse 15 years ago.
Gerry the Flute, whose real name is Gerald Charles Game, has recently been seen playing his flute in Cheltenham's busy Promenade wearing a pair of large ears and sitting on a toadstool.
A sign next to him, replicated on his MySpace internet page, offers his services for parties as a "trainee leprechaun".
He also claims to have a selection of percussion instruments that "any little or big people" can use to play along.
Mr Game, who was convicted of indecently assaulting a 13-year-old girl in 1994 and served 10 months of a 21-month sentence, said children were at no risk watching him perform. But he conceded he does not usually declare his past conviction upfront. He said: "I try to avoid children. They are there."
He added: "God has blessed my fingers with the gift of joy
and I just want to give something back. I've been performing on and off for 10 years and it has never been an issue. A young handicapped girl sat down next to me for 20 minutes recently shaking a tambourine. She was oozing joy."Mr Game, who has not reoffended and now lives in Chepstow, said: "How can I be a risk? I treat children with respect. My downfall is I've been too honest."
He continued: "In the early days I did do children's parties and mentioned my convictions and there was no comeback."
What a creepy individual. Perhaps he thinks they're after his lucky charms.
