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Sparky's

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 11, 2004
871
0
Are they sure this guy isn't "Monk" (American TV show)? They should bring him over here to teach the car theives in this country!

Jail sentence for Englishman who stole and cleaned dozens of cars

SHEFFIELD, England (AP) - Colin Sadd might be the man you'd prefer to steal your car, but he's going to jail again.

Sadd, 41, who has 155 previous convictions, was sentenced Wednesday to six years in jail after pleading guilty to stealing five cars and admitting responsibility for 31 other thefts. Sadd's modus operandi is to dress up in a suit, go to an auto dealer and ask for a test drive. The car never returns, but is abandoned after being spotlessly cleaned. "He looked after the cars he stole better than me," said his wife, Mary, who added that Sadd has never owned a car.

"He only takes brand new vehicles, drives them around for a couple of hours, then he cleans them inside and out. He will even buy a tin of polish to give them an extra sparkle and sometimes takes them to a car wash to get them extra clean."

Psychiatrists have said that Sadd has a compulsive disorder, and a judge in a previous case described him as "the man you would most want to steal your car."

"He has never hurt anyone and he desperately needs help with his obsession," his wife said. "If he was a pedophile or a mugger they would be falling over backwards to help him, but because he is fascinated with taking cars and cleaning them nobody wants to know."
:rolleyes:
 

wdlove

macrumors P6
Oct 20, 2002
16,568
0
He should try to save everyone a lot of trouble and ask the owner. I'm sure he would do very well offering a free service. He would be a very popular person. Quite famous indeed.
 

Makosuke

macrumors 604
Aug 15, 2001
6,662
1,242
The Cool Part of CA, USA
Probably wouldn't touch anything but a new car, because they're too dirty to start with. Anybody who takes a brand new car and then cleans it really must have some sort of severe problem!
 

rainman::|:|

macrumors 603
Feb 2, 2002
5,438
2
iowa
if he has severe enough OCD, he could actually suffer psychological pain if he doesn't bow to his compulsions... and compulsions are used by the mind to counter obsessions. If he truly does this because he suffers from the disorder, i feel sorry for him. Although, i really shouldn't doubt that this is the case, because who else would do this?

How odd that he abandons them, either signifies that he does not view the cars as "the same" after they're cleaned (his obsession is purged of this particular vehicle), or that he is confused and bewildered after the moment of compulsive climax, which could in turn indicate a handful of other problems. Too bad he didn't find the right therapist 10 years ago.

paul
 

Thomas Veil

macrumors 68030
Feb 14, 2004
2,636
8,862
Much greener pastures
So how is six years in jail gonna improve him?

I'd be more inclined, if I were the judge, to give him a court order to get intensive psychiatric help, and jail him if he refused.

Amusing story, though.
 
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