Public masturbator jailed for ‘gross and indecent act’ in Toowoomba

A known public masturbator has been jailed for a string of offences, including taking a pair of women’s underwear from a clothes line which he put on while continuing to pleasure himself.

The magistrate said the 34-year-old man had committed a “gross and indecent act”.

A Toowoomba man with a penchant for using sticks as sex toys on himself while pleasuring himself in public has been jailed for the indecent acts.

Christopher Neale Roberts had been arrested by police after a foot chase through Toowoomba’s CBD streets on Tuesday and taken into custody.

The 34-year-old had been on the police radar since reports of his bizarre behaviour from a number of residents after he was seen and captured on CCTV performing sex acts on himself in public places.

Police prosecutor Rohan Brewster-Webb told Toowoomba Magistrates Court a seemingly drug affected Roberts had been seen walking into Gold Park Sporting Grounds about 10.40am, July 24, and climbing over a residential fence backing onto the grounds.

He was then seen to remove his shorts, put a stick vertically onto the ground on which he then squatted, penetrating his rectum, he said.

He had then moved up and down on the stick while masturbating.

Roberts had then stolen a pair of women’s black underpants from the clothes line, put them on and continued to masturbate.

After trespassing in a number of neighbouring yards, he returned with a larger stick and repeated the ritual.

Three days earlier, Roberts had been seen entering the back yard of a Newtown residence dressed only in shorts and sliders.

He picked up a pair of shoes at the back door, sniffed them and put them on before walking away, Mr Brewster said.

Roberts appeared by video link from the watch house to plead guilty to 14 offences including eight counts of trespassing, two each of stealing and obstructing police and “committing an indecent act in any place to which the public are permitted access”.

Duty solicitor Kyna Morice told the court Roberts instructed that he had no medical or mental health issues yet couldn’t explain his behaviour.

The 34-year-old had been using ice for a number of years, she said.

“He needs intense support and supervision,” Mr Morice submitted.

Noting Roberts had nine pages of criminal history, Magistrate Howard Osborne said the indecent acts were the most serious of the charges.

“It was a gross and indecent act for which is offered no real explanation,” he said.

Mr Osborne jailed Roberts for six months but ordered he be released on parole on October 4 after having served two months.

He was also fined $800 for obstructing police.

Originally published as Public masturbator jailed for ‘gross and indecent act’ in Toowoomba