Telford man guilty of outraging public decency next to public pathway in Southwater in middle of the day
A Dawley man has been found guilty of masturbating next to a pathway in a busy town centre on a "red hot" summer day, despite claiming he was only scratching his inner thighs.
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Gareth Hutchinson, of Lancaster Court, was sitting outside the Wrekin Giant pub, facing a lake, witnessed by a couple who were pushing their two young children in a pushchair in Southwater, central Telford, in the early afternoon of June 21 this year.
Telford Magistrates Court heard that the woman thought Hutchinson was scratching himself at first, before realising what he was doing and asking her partner to push the children past him quickly.
Police were called and Hutchinson was arrested that day on suspicion of outraging public decency. He denied it and told officers he had been scratching his inner thighs because he was anxious.
Prosecutor Andrew Mitchinson told the court on Tuesday: "[The couple] were walking with their two young children in Southwater, past the Wrekin Giant pub, pushing their children in a double pram.
"They noticed this defendant sat on the side of the walkway.
