Masturbating man given 15 months jail time
A western Sydney man will spend up to 15 months behind bars after he was caught exposing himself in front of families at a busy reserve.
Blacktown
Don't miss out on the headlines from Blacktown. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- OneFour gang associate admits to brawl at Mt Druitt Islander footy match
- Teen suffers punctured lung in Westpoint Blacktown stabbing
A man jailed after masturbating in front of children and women doing yoga at a Doonside park while he was high on ice claims he didn’t think children could see him.
Charles Xuereb, 50, of Woodcroft, pleaded guilty to three counts of wilful and obscene exposure with intent after he was caught with his genitals exposed while performing sexual acts at Nurragingy Reserve on June 10.
Police say a group of children were playing hide and seek when they saw Mr Xuereb masturbating while looking at them from only metres away.
The children reported the incident to their mother who then followed the man through the park.
He was then seen to put his hand down his pants and masturbate again while watching women doing yoga nearby.
Mr Xuereb then rode his bike to a nearby playground where he exposed himself again and masturbated in front of children 20 metres away.
Police said children as young as seven years of age witnessed his actions.
During a sentencing hearing at Blacktown Local Court today Mr Xuereb said he was not aware he was being watched by children.
“I’m not like that … I may have been doing an inappropriate thing but never in front of kids,” he said.
“I feel ashamed.”
He said inmates at Parklea Correctional Centre had given him a “hard time” after hearing of his charges.
The court heard Mr Xuereb suffered from mental health issues but had stopped taking his medication and was using the drug ice at the time of the offence.
A bid from Mr Xuereb’s defence to have the matter dealt with under the Mental Health Act was rejected.
“There is a link between his mental condition and his offending behaviour and that mental condition played a big role in him committing these offences,” his defence solicitor said.
Magistrate Anthony Spence said Mr Xuereb had a lengthy criminal history and had failed to follow mental health treatment after previously having matters previously dealt with on mental health grounds.
“These are serious charges all the more so because they were committed on the Queen’s Birthday weekend at a very public reserve and he ought to have known a number of families were picnicking and would have been exposed to his behaviour,” Mr Spence said.
“It’s a very public situation that would concern a lot of right-thinking members of the community.
“He deliberately went there to publicly do what he did.”
Mr Xuereb was on multiple good behaviour bonds at the time of the incident for a range of criminal offences, including stalking and intimidation, having custody of a knife in a public place and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The bonds were revoked and he was jailed on all charges for a maximum of 15 months, with a non-parole period of 12 months.
He will be eligible for release in June 2020.