A man who had sex with a woman on a ferris wheel at Download Festival in June has appeared in court, telling magistrates he only learned the video had gone viral when his boss phoned him about it. Innes Miller, a 33-year-old civil engineering student, pleaded guilty to outraging public decency after the couple were filmed by fellow festivalgoers engaging in the act in one of the wheel's pods ahead of Guns N' Roses' headline set. The case matters because it highlights how quickly footage from public events can spread online and land participants in criminal proceedings, while also raising questions about the impact on unwitting bystanders.

Leicestershire Police identified both parties from the widely shared footage; the woman was not prosecuted after cooperating and apologising, but Miller declined to comment to police and was already serving a community order for drug-driving. Prosecutors said the incident was reported by a woman who was on the ride with her young autistic son, whose behaviour has reportedly changed since witnessing it. Miller's lawyer argued the crowd's reaction was largely lighthearted and that going viral was punishment enough, while the bench, led by Anne Cowan, fined Miller £80 plus £85 costs and a £32 victim surcharge, noting his online notoriety was irrelevant to sentencing.