A man caught having sex on a Ferris wheel during the Download Festival near Castle Donington has expressed deep embarrassment after the incident became widely publicised.
Innes Miller, 33, a civil engineering student from Nottinghamshire, was attending the festival with friends in June when he engaged in a brief sexual act on the Ferris wheel around lunchtime on Saturday. The act was witnessed by several people on the ride and others on the ground, and was recorded and shared extensively online.
Miller discovered the widespread attention when his employer contacted him to say he was “all over the internet.” Prosecutors said Leicestershire Police identified Miller and the woman involved from the footage. While the woman was apologetic and was not prosecuted, Miller faced charges.
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He appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on 10 September and pleaded guilty to outraging public decency. A witness to the incident, who was with her young son on the ride, reported the matter to police. She described how her son, who has autism, was shocked by what he saw, and that the experience had reportedly affected his behaviour.
Defence counsel Sabeel Hussain told the court that many onlookers found the moment humorous rather than distressing, and noted that Miller had already faced considerable public embarrassment due to the viral nature of the footage. He described the incident as a “moment of madness” under the influence of alcohol, emphasising that there was no malicious intent.
Miller, who previously worked as a truck driver before studying civil engineering at Nottingham College, was fined £80 and ordered to pay £85 in court costs along with a £32 victim surcharge. The presiding magistrate reminded him that the court’s judgement was independent of any public attention generated online.
Miller stated he was “thoroughly ashamed and embarrassed” by the incident.