A 26-year-old Dublin man has been told he must stay out of all Tesco stores after he masturbated himself in public, in the vicinity of women and children, at the large Tesco store at Manor West, Tralee, two evenings in a row in 2013.
Iosach O’Riain, of Mount Eagle Rise, Leopardstown Heights, Dublin 18, pleaded guilty earlier to two charges of “outraging public decency”. The charge was contrary to common law.
The judge at the sentencing hearing yesterday said the acts were “lewd in the extreme”.
At Tesco, Manor West, Tralee, “a public place and within view of members of the public”, he had masturbated himself in public, a lewd and obscene act which outraged public decency, on June 26th and on June 27th, 2013, according to charge.
At the sentence hearing yesterday at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee, Garda Lynda Brosnan answering Tom Rice, prosecuting, said security at the store had called her to the large Tesco supermarket on June 26th, 2013. This was at around 9.20pm.
A large crowd were in the store and there was a school tour “and children and young families were in the vicinity”. Good-quality CCTV footage showed a man she later identified as Mr O’Riain “walking around the store, his hands in his pockets,” Garda Brosnan said.
He was viewing young children “and masturbating at the same time in close proximity to the children”, the garda continued.
The following evening, after she had come on duty at 9pm, she went to the store and she herself observed Mr O’Riain for several minutes.
“All the time he had his hands in his pocket. He was masturbating while viewing young children at the same time,” Garda Brosnan said.
He seemed to follow two young females in jackets, and in particular one young girl in a pink jacket, the garda said.
At one stage, he lay on the floor to look under a shelf, she said. Garda Brosnan also said she “clearly saw” him masturbating in the children’s clothing section.
Arrested and cautioned, he made admissions but said he was only looking at women.
“Children do not attract me. Women arouse me,” Mr O’Riain told the garda.
The court was told that Mr O’Riain had been convicted at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in 2012 of sexual assault of a child . He and had received two years’ imprisonment, 14 months of which were suspended on his own bond. He was released from Wheatfield Prison in June 2013.
Defending, barrister John O’Sullivan said he had co-operated and had “religiously observed ” the terms of his bail since his arrest in 2013 – this included staying away from Tesco stores and he was also involved in a One in Four programme for sexual offenders
Mr O’Sullivan said he had “very supportive parents”, who were in court yesterday as on all previous occasions and they had been shocked by his behaviour.
Advancing legal argument, Mr O’Sullivan said the case could have been open to legal challenge and this was accepted.
Judge Thomas E O’Donnell said the acts had been “lewd in the extreme” and “totally unacceptable.”
He commended Garda Brosnan for her handling of the case.
The judge said he would put the case back for 12 months and he directed an updated report in a year from One in Four, a probation report and that he stay out of Tesco and attend his weekly counselling programme.
“Young man, I am going to give you a chance to complete your engagement with One in Four,” the judge said.
The judge lifted a bail condition to sign on daily at a Garda station and observe a nightly curfew. However any breach of the bail conditions would see the matter re-entered within 48 hours, he said.