Flasher in court
Creep shocks female victim
A CREEP flashed his penis and asked a female dog walker to “show her tits” while he was fishing at Aireys Inlet.
Marcus Devlin, 31, avoided a conviction in Geelong Magistrates’ Court but was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond.
On October 8 last year, the married man was fishing from a kayak in Painkalac Creek when he struck up a conversation with a 46-year-old woman walking along the banks of the creek.
After a short time, Devlin suddenly asked to see the woman’s breasts and smiled as he exposed his penis.
The victim immediately fled and phoned police.
While being questioned by officers, Devlin admitted asking to see the woman’s breasts but denied flashing his penis, saying he may have been playing with a “soft rubber” item instead.
The court heard Devlin had not been in trouble with the law before the incident.
His lawyer said Devlin was remorseful and had “completely misread” supposed signals from the woman.
“He is very embarrassed, particularly because he had to inform his wife about these allegations,” the lawyer said.
But Magistrate Ann McGarvie said she struggled to understand Devlin’s explanation about misreading the woman’s signals.
“Trust me, a middle-aged woman walking her dog in Aireys Inlet is not looking for a sexual encounter,” she said.
“I can imagine how confused she would’ve felt at first, then how horrified she would’ve been. Strange men asking sexual questions in public is very frightening to women.”
However, Ms McGarvie said she accepted the behaviour appeared to be out of character.
On top of the good behaviour bond, she ordered Devlin to pay $500 to the court fund. MONTHS of searching has paid off for a young couple who struck gold with their first tilt at auction bidding on Saturday.
John Francia and Claire Varley trumped two competitors to secure the keys to 9 Langibanool Ave, Hamlyn Heights, for $598,5000.
The couple, who previously lived in Coburg, joked they would never buy another house again after earning their prize.
Ms Varley said the threebedroom, one bathroom brick house on a 731sq m block of land was “a mansion” compared to what they were used to in Melbourne.
“It felt like a place that we could call home,” she said. “And we liked the area.” Price expectations for the property had been $490,000$530,000 but the opening bid of $551,000 showed serious buyers were in the large crowd.
McGrath Geelong agent Will Ainsworth said the strong competition reflected the property’s appeal to a range of buyers. “This type of property is very desirable,” he said. “The values are only going to go in one direction and that is north.”