Flasher’s sexual act was seen by school children
liz.day@walesonline.co.uk
A MAN was caught with his trousers down in a car parked near a school while the pupils were out and about during lunch break.
Phillip Toppar was seen by three girls performing a sexual act outside the school in Cardiff but the 66-year-old denied deliberately exposing himself when he was interviewed by the police and claimed he was, in fact, urinating into a bag.
Sentencing him at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Richard Twomlow said: “It is very worrying behaviour.”
The court heard the incident happened at around 12.30pm on December 11 last year outside the school in Cardiff.
Susan Ferrier, prosecuting, said three pupils walked past the parked car and saw the defendant with his trousers down.
One of the girls thought she had seen him sitting there in the car before.
They reported the matter to a teacher and police arrived to search the area.
The car was seized and Toppar was interviewed.
He told officers he had been out and was “caught short”. He decided to urinate into a bag he had in the glove compartment. Officers did not find the bag.
Ms Ferrier said the defendant was jailed for three years in 1983 for attempted rape and his last conviction was in 2004.
Toppar, from Awel Mor in Pentwyn, Cardiff, initially denied intentionally exposing his genitals intending someone would see them and be caused alarm or distress but changed his plea on the day his trial was due to start.
Adam Sharp, defending, pointed out the attempted rape conviction dated back to when the defendant was 29 and asked the judge to consider it in context.
Judge Twomlow noted the conviction dated back more than 35 years but said: “It is troubling.”
Mr Sharp told the court his client had been on remand in custody for seven and a half months and said: “That sails past the maximum sentence.”
The judge considered whether Toppar was a dangerous offender and if there needed to be an extended sentence for public protection.
He decided he could deal with the case through a determinate sentence plus a “lengthy” sexual harm prevention order.
Toppar was jailed for 23 weeks and must serve up to half of that in custody. He has already served that on remand and will be released on licence.
He will have to notify as a sex offender for the next seven years and the judge made an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.