A woman who smeared human waste on a children’s nursery building, as well as stealing used nappy bags, slept in human waste bins to find “comfort”.
Abbi Taylor, 46, pleaded guilty to three counts of dumping bags of toxic materials – nappies containing human waste – at nurseries around South Shields. She also admitted stealing nappy bags from one of the nurseries, and breaching a criminal behaviour order previously imposed by Nottinghamshire Magistrates’ Court by being within 10 metres of a nursery without a reasonable excuse.
Taylor is a self-described “adult baby diaper lover”, and has a long history of nursery-related crime.
Similar incidents dated back to the year 2019, the court heard. She said she previously climbed into clinical waste bins “to sleep and find comfort”.
Taylor had a troubled childhood, according to recorder Richard Herrman, and she had a “very unfortunate history”. She had experienced significant trauma in her early life, the defence said. Nick Lane, defending, said: “It seems through age regression, Miss Taylor says she found her release, her coping mechanism.”
Mr Lane said Taylor explained that she had no sexual interest in children, and some people with a fetish for nappies were yearning for an innocent, “simpler, more care-free time”.
Mr Lane said Taylor was born male but identified as female, adding: “It is important to observe that this is not a recent development, because that is a concern that has been in the public arena for some time. The first recorded reference to this within the medical records goes back to 1993.”
He said identifying as a woman would increase Taylor’s vulnerability if she was jailed. Mr Lane said Taylor is in a relationship with a woman who she helps to live independently.
In January 2023, a South Shields nursery manager reported seeing someone “rooting around inside” one of the clinical waste bins. Taylor noticed she was being watched, and immediately ran away.
Meanwhile, staff at a nursery in Jarrow thought a rival nursery might be dumping waste on their premise after they found up to 50 soiled nappies around the area. Jane Foley, prosecuting, said excrement was smeared on milk bottles and the fire escape.
In May 2023, a member of staff at a Cleadon nursery saw Taylor exiting from one of the waste bins. “She saw a pair of legs climb out from inside the bin and run off,” the prosecution said.
The judge also considered the impact on nursery staff, saying: “It made them anxious, uncomfortable, unhappy going to work for months on end, not knowing what they were going to find.”
Staff at one nursery said they were so concerned they went in pairs when going outside to put soiled waste into the bins.
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