A mentally ill man who bared his backside inside the shop of a West Cumbria petrol station has been sentenced by a judge who stressed he was keen to offer him professional help.
Staff inside the Pelican Garage outlet in New Road in Whitehaven were left stunned by Benjamin James Connor’s criminal conduct on August 26 last year.
Carlisle Crown Court heard Connor, 45, dropped his trousers, exposing himself, before wiping his bare bottom on a piece of cloth.
After Connor was arrested, police searched his home. They found a number of electronic devices he was banned from having under the terms of a strict court order imposed in 2020 as part of his punishment for previous sexual offending.
Connor admitted outraging public decency and breaching the order.
Judge Nicholas Barker observed that Connor, previously of Seven Acres, Parton, Whitehaven, had been suffering from a mental health episode at the time of the garage shop incident.
“This would have been a revolting and disgusting sight, something which would have been shocking and something which would have been upsetting and deeply unsettling,” said Judge Barker of the shop staff. “They have my deepest sympathies for this.”
In a bid to offer Connor professional assistance, Judge Barker imposed an 18-month community order. This includes a rehabilitation activity requirement and attendance on a mental health treatment course. “This order exists to support you and to rehabilitate you,” added the judge.
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