Man, 85, 'watched cathedral boys'

An 85-year-old man was arrested after "regularly" following young boys into toilets at St Paul's Cathedral, a Southwark Crown Court has heard.

Staff alerted police after allegedly seeing Alexander Rossi watching boys as they entered toilets near the crypt.

Mr Rossi was arrested when two plain-clothes police officers saw him follow two young boys into the toilets and perform a sex act, the court heard.

Mr Rossi, from Haringey, north London, denies two counts of voyeurism.

Frequent visitor

The court heard Mr Rossi was a frequent visitor to the cathedral crypt over several months. Staff contacted police when they became concerned about his behaviour.

Plain-clothes officers saw Mr Rossi sitting outside the crypt gift shop with his eyes "fixed on the toilets" in November last year.

Prosecutor Henrietta Paget said Mr Rossi followed a boy in a school uniform, aged about 12, into the toilet but left when another member of the public arrived.

A few minutes later Mr Rossi followed another boy, in his early teens, into the toilet, the court heard.

In the toilet officers observed him watching that child and a 10-year-old boy before performing a sex act, Ms Paget said.

When Mr Rossi was arrested he told officers: "I wasn't doing what you thought I was doing," the court heard.

He told police he suffered prostate gland problems which caused him trouble relieving himself.

But Ms Paget said: "We say in spite of his medical condition it is quite clear what he was doing on this occasion."