Peter George Leslie Walters in district court over indecent treatment of children under 12

A truck driver, whose vile act at a McDonald’s had such an impact on one of his young victims she spent time in hospital, has fronted court.

A Bundaberg court has heard how a man exposed himself to two girls who were sitting down to eat a meal.

A man who exposed his genitals to two 11-year-old girls at McDonald’s, will spend time behind bars.

Peter George Leslie Walters pleaded guilty in Bundaberg District Court to two counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 (under 12).

Wearing jeans and a T-shirt, the balding 59-year-old was supported in the courtroom by his elderly mother to whom he provides care.

The court heard that on September 25, 2020, the two young victims, who were strangers to Walters, had decided to ride their bicycles to the Bargara McDonald’s restaurant.

When the girls sat down to eat, they noticed Walters was sitting at a table opposite them, watching them with his legs apart and genitals exposed, “scratching” himself.

He was found by police at Nielson Park Beach and later attended the police station where he admitted he was sitting opposite the girls at the restaurant, but initially denied the offending behaviour.

Crown Prosecutor Erin Kelly tendered a victim impact statement by the parents of one of the girls as well as a letter from the Child Mental Health Unit to the court.

“As your honour will see from that material, the incident, while it might seem on the extreme low end of the scale compared to what the court would often see, has had some lasting impact on one of the complainants who has spent some time in hospital,” she said.

Ms Kelly referred to similar offending in Walters’ past, where he had pleaded guilty to exposing himself to young girls in 2011 and served time in prison.

She said it did not appear prison time had been a deterrent for Walters.

Barrister Callan Cassidy told the court Walters was a father who had previously worked as a council truck driver and in the mines before resigning in anticipation of a jail term for his latest offending.

He said Walters was a carer for his elderly mother who suffered from a number of health issues.

He also said the time spent in hospital for one of the victims was “some months” after the offending.

In sentencing, Judge Katherine McGinness said Walters had been diagnosed in his mid-20s as suffering from a medical disorder of exhibitionism for which he’d previously sought psychological help.

Ms McGinness said there had been no information tendered to the court to suggest Walters had maintained any form of counselling and young girls should not have to be exposed to such behaviour.

“It's clear from a victim impact statement from one child’s parents that your actions have had significant adverse impacts upon her emotional state.

“You knew full well that what you were doing was terribly wrong.”

For the first count of indecent treatment of a child under 12, Walters was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended after three months with an operational period of two years.

For the second count of indecent treatment of a child under 12, Walters was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment with two years’ probation.