Burwood man Paul Mckercher sentenced over masturbating towards girl
A Burwood East man has learnt his fate in court after he tried to scare off a teenage girl walking down a Glen Waverley street with a vile sex act.
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A Burwood East man has been put on the sex offender register after he exposed himself and performed a lewd act in front of a teenage girl in a Glen Waverley street.
Paul Mckercher, 57, was sentenced on Monday after he pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual activity directed towards a minor at Ringwood Magistrates Court on February 8.
The incident occurred on January 31, 2022, when Mckercher noticed the 16-year-old girl while walking on Mandowie St, Glen Waverley, about 4.10pm.
The court previously heard Mckercher crossed the road, looked at the victim, exposed his genitals, and began masturbating in her direction.
The girl ran home and told her parents, who reported the incident to police.
Mckercher was later arrested at his Burwood East home on February 14 following a public appeal and after police obtained CCTV footage of the incident.
They also found clothing worn by Mckercher during the incident after searching his home at the time of arrest.
The court heard Mckercher made full admission to police of looking at the victim while masturbating, but claimed he had no sexual intentions.
“... I did it because I wanted to scare her,” he told police when interviewed.
Mckercher’s defence lawyer confirmed her client had explained he wasn’t masturbating in a sexual way and it was “more of a rude gesture”, admitting it would have been “very confronting and unpleasant” for the victim.
She said Mckercher had undergone treatment for testicular cancer since 2013, which had “taken quite a toll” and included a stent in his urinary tract.
The defence lawyer also said Mckercher had realised he “needed help” six months after the incident and had been prescribed antidepressants.
She asked for a mental health condition to be included on any possible community corrections orders, saying the issues “may well be addressed” if included.
Magistrate Tony Parsons ordered Mckercher be assessed over the phone for a community corrections order on February 13.
On Monday, Mr Parsons spared Mckercher a conviction but placed him on an 18-month community corrections order, which included attending a sex offender program for the enitre period.
Mckercher was also placed on the sex offender register for eight years until February 2031.
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