A SENIOR assistant to Wes Streeting exposed himself to a 13-year-old girl then followed her, The Sun can reveal.
The terrified teen banged on doors for help as Labour councillor and ex-parliamentary candidate Sam Gould, 33, pursued her.
The girl’s mum has said her daughter is now scared to leave the house.
The mother was stunned that sex pest Sam Gould cannot be sacked as a councillor despite pleading guilty to two counts of indecent exposure.
Her daughter was walking to meet friends on Saturday when she saw a man sitting in his car performing a sex act with his trousers down.
She ran away but the pervert got out and followed her into a cul-de-sac.
After seeing the teen banging on front doors for help, another motorist came to her rescue and took down the offender’s registration number.
Gould, a former Labour parliamentary candidate who is said to have gone on school visits with Mr Streeting, was tracked down by police and arrested later that day.
The mum dashed to her daughter after she called in tears, and said she has been left “traumatised” by the incident in Romford, East London.
She told The Sun last night: “She didn’t go to school yesterday and she doesn’t want to leave the house.
“The fact he’s been released on bail has caused her a lot more anxiety – she’s scared she might bump into him.”
She added: “If that member of the public hadn’t stepped in, I dread to think what might have happened.”
The mum of two revealed she was “gobsmacked” after learning Gould had been a senior caseworker for the Health Secretary.
She said of Gould, who has been suspended from the Labour Party: “We’re meant to be able to trust people in power. It’s worrying to know that he has worked with vulnerable people and school-aged children.”
Gould has resigned from Mr Streeting’s Ilford constituency office.
The horrified Health Secretary is understood to have sought to sack him immediately after hearing of his arrest, and again called for him to quit Redbridge Council.
He said last night: “There are no words to express my horror that a mother and her daughter have been put through this ordeal, and will have to deal with the trauma of it for some time to come.
“As soon as I was made aware of his arrest he was suspended, and as soon as the guilty plea was entered I took immediate steps to sack him through official HR processes.
“There are no excuses for his appalling behaviour. I am calling for him again to resign as a Redbridge councillor immediately.”
Red tape means local authorities do not have the power to sack councillors for breaching their code of conduct. The victim’s mum said: “The system is flawed.
“It’s disgusting that councillors can’t be suspended for committing a criminal offence.
“He shouldn’t be given the choice to resign. He’s admitted it, he should be sacked.”
Gould joined Mr Streeting’s office in 2019, and was a senior caseworker, helping his boss in several of his parliamentary roles, including Shadow Minister for Schools.
A colleague who worked with Gould said they felt like they had been “punched in the stomach”. They told The Sun: “We are all just shell-shocked. He was affable, he was friendly, I trusted him.”
They added: “I’ve been in the car with him alone.
“He wasn’t just a senior caseworker – he was an office manager.
“He went on school visits with Wes. He was someone I considered a friend – everyone considered him a friend.”
The Met Police charged Gould with two counts of indecent exposure on Sunday after linking him to a second flashing incident involving a 25-year-old woman in Hornchurch last month.
He pleaded guilty to both counts at Barkingside magistrates court the next day and was released on bail until sentencing next month.
However, the teen victim’s mum feels that the incident with her daughter has been downplayed.
Nowhere in any of the statements does it state that one of the victims was a child.
Victim's mum
She said: “Nowhere in any of the statements does it state that one of the victims was a child.
“It just says there were two incidents of indecent exposure.
“It is so frustrating because it makes it sound as though he’s just flashed. But it was more than that. The fact is that my daughter is a vulnerable 13-year-old child. He exposed himself to her and then followed her.
“The real question for me is, ‘What were his intentions? Why did he not just drive off? Why did he then get out of his vehicle to pursue her?’ That’s what keeps playing on my mind.”
The mum, who The Sun is not naming, fears he will be given a “slap on the wrist”.
She said: “I think they should throw the book at him. If he gets away with it, other people aren’t going to be deterred from doing the same thing. I want to protect other kids.”
Gould, who has a degree in political science from Essex University, unsuccessfully ran to be an MP in Romford in 2015, when he was one of the youngest parliamentary candidates in the country.
In a profile on his former college website he boasted of helping hundreds of people through his work with the Labour Party.
He said: “It may be a cliché, but I got involved in politics because I wanted to make a positive difference. I see politics as the most effective way to do this.”
He said he had run several campaigns, including a “back to school week that sought to bring former state-school students back into their former schools to inspire today’s young people”.
I am shocked and appalled by the actions that have come to light over the weekend of Councillor Gould.
Leader of the Council Kam Rai
Redbridge Council said it was “deeply disturbed” by his arrest and has taken “immediate steps” to ensure Gould does not have access to its systems.
Leader of the Council Kam Rai also called on Gould to resign, accusing him of “betrayal”.
He said: “I am shocked and appalled by the actions that have come to light over the weekend of Councillor Gould.
“As soon as Mr Gould’s arrest was communicated over the weekend, he was rightly suspended by the Party. Unfortunately there is no process for his suspension from the Council. My heart goes out to the victims who have had to endure his despicable behaviour.
“Redbridge Council will continue to work closely with the police to support their investigation, and I would like to personally thank them for their immediate and timely action.
“Following the inexcusable betrayal of his residents, the Council, and our wider community, it is only right that Mr Gould immediately resign as a councillor and face justice.”
Gould was given conditional bail by the judge until he appears at Barkingside magistrates’ court for sentence on April 7.
In the meantime, he is not allowed to sit in the front seat of any vehicle, and must also spend each night at the same address.
