A 19-YEAR-OLD Co Laois man has been given a two-year sentence with the final 12 months suspended for exposing himself to a woman and then robbing her.
Peter Fleming, of Silveracre, Castletown, Mountrath, pleaded guilty to mugging the 24-year-old foreign national, leaving her terrified and afraid to go out on her own after dark.
Fleming, who has four previous convictions for indecency dating back to offences committed since he was 16, said he is dealing with his psychosexual behavioural difficulties and is now aware of the impact of his behaviour. “I’d like to apologise to her first off,” he said. “I do understand what effect it has on her now. I don’t want that to happen to anyone again.”
Judge Anthony Kennedy said Fleming’s understanding of the impact was “facile”, and his acceptance of his responsibility “glib”.
Garda Paul Dooley told Portlaoise Circuit Court the woman had left work in Portlaoise before 6pm on November 21st last when she heard someone calling her.
When she didn’t recognise the 19-year-old she kept walking, but took out her phone. When he called again, she turned around and saw him pull up his top and pull down his trousers so she could clearly see his genitals.
As she hurried on she received a punch in the neck, knocking her down, and Fleming ran away with her bag.
A passerby gave chase and when gardaí arrived, Garda Dooley pursued Fleming for more than half a kilometre.
While Fleming initially denied the offence in interviews, saying he had run away only because he had cannabis worth €20 on him, he pleaded guilty when the case first came before the court.
In the witness box, Fleming said the counselling and help he has had has led him to see the impact on victims.
“I know the impact on people now. I shouldn’t be at it. I want to get it fixed,” said the teenager, who has been in a protection unit at St Patrick’s Institution since November.
He has attended sessions with drug, sex and alcohol counsellors since November, and is understood to be engaging more fully with professionals than previously.
The teenager, who got an A1 in Leaving Cert maths, which he studied while in custody, accepted that he had shattered his victim’s life and said he was willing to take his punishment and spend time in jail while he got treatment.
Judge Kennedy said he doubted whether the teenager, whom he described as “bright” and “fluent”, had a genuine commitment to treatment, and didn’t believe he had committed the offence because he was drunk.
He imposed a two-year sentence for the robbery, suspending the final year on condition he be supervised by the Probation Service for 18 months after release, and a three-month sentence for indecent exposure.