Touching moment no joke

A MAN caught doing a lewd act while half naked at the Cairns Lagoon is at risk of going to jail.

Benjamin Doatanwine Ware, 26, was touching himself as he peeked under the stall doors inside the busy public toilet and shower block on March 27 this year.

As soon as police arrived Mr Ware stopped what he was doing. Only his upper body was clothed.

Prosecutor Rachel Wolfe said a tourist told police that Ware “had been masturbating there for a few minutes”.

“It is quite a disturbing offence and could have had terrible consequences, particularly in relation to children in such a public space,” Ms Wolfe said.

Moments after Ware was arrested, a father and a young child entered the amenities block.

Ware pleaded guilty in the Cairns Magistrates Court to an indecent act in a public place.

The court was told Ware had a 10-page criminal history that included terms of imprisonment for similar offending.

Acting Magistrate Richard Lehmann said that Ware was in jeopardy of another jail term.

“This is not some bloke who’s sitting in the bushes at (the) beach and there’s one person around. It’s the Cairns Lagoon,” he said.

“It’s probably one of the most populated places in the whole of Cairns.”

It was decided the matter was too serious to be dealt with in arrest court and the case was adjourned to long plea sentencing on April 30.