Repeat offender jailed for indecent act

A REPEAT indecency offender has been jailed for 10 months.

Six months’ release conditions include him being subject to GPS monitoring.

‘‘You require close monitoring and oversight,’’ Judge Michael Turner said, sentencing Stephen Edric Wilkinson (50) in the Dunedin District Court yesterday.

Wilkinson, of Dunedin, had been convicted of doing an indecent act in public, on January 2.

Reviewing the facts, the judge said Wilkinson cycled along Kettle Park Road, about 3.30pm, and parked his mountain bike near a footpath leading to St Kilda beach.

Children were playing on the beach.

Wilkinson walked a short distance through the sand dunes and stood on an exposed embankment. With his genitals outside his shorts, he began masturbating while watching a boy, aged about 8, playing in the sea.

An adult male noticed him and shouted at him.

He apologised and quickly left.

Spoken to by police, he said originally went to the sand dunes to urinate.

He took responsibility for what he had done and acknowledged he had a problem.

Public defender Andrew Dawson said Wilkinson clearly had issues which needed to be addressed. Wilkinson found it frustrating past counselling had not dealt with his issues in a meaningful way.

‘‘It seems when things go wrong — the end of his counselling and the death of a friend — he goes into a shell and behaves in a way that brings him before the court.

‘‘On this occasion it doesn’t seem children were aware of what was going on. He stopped as soon as he was confronted and was cooperative with police,’’ Mr Dawson said.

Judge Turner said Wilkinson’s behaviour was deliberate, in a very public place in the middle of the afternoon in the holiday season, and to gratify his own sexual needs.

‘‘The risk of you being seen by children was high,’’ he told him.

Wilkinson’s previous convictions included six for indecency involving males, the judge said. Imprisonment was the only possible outcome.