Mitchell Ivan Lamb, 21, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to two counts of indecent exposure.
He told police and Probation the lewd displays were inadvertent, that he had been to check his mailbox and was then caught by the desperate urge to urinate. Judge David Robinson rubbished those claims.
"Bluntly, I don’t accept [it]," he said.
"Ideally, I would’ve liked to understand what your thinking was — you weren’t caught short."
The court heard the first incident, in March or April last year, occurred when the first schoolgirl passed the defendant’s Tainui home, where he lived with his parents.
The house is less than 1km from both a primary and intermediate school.
Lamb, standing in his yard beside a car port, pulled his pants down to his lower thigh and began "shaking around" his genitalia.
The victim increased her speed and did not look back.
Just days later, Lamb was standing beside a boundary fence when the second victim passed the front of the property.
Court documents described how he again dropped his pants, this time "twirling" his genitals.
The mother of the 11-year-old victim said her daughter was formerly a happy, independent child, enjoying the freedom of walking to school.
"It’s impacted her confidence, sense of safety and her ability to trust other people," Judge Robinson said.
He praised the schoolgirl for having the courage to report Lamb’s crimes to her parents and the police.
"You need to take on board what you did has caused real harm and ongoing harm. She didn’t deserve this. No child does," the judge said.
The court heard Lamb had a background of isolation and counsel Brendan Stephenson said his client was a primary caregiver for his father.
Judge Robinson said the defendant needed more "life skills".
"You need to be out in the community being exposed to other people, knowing how social interactions are supposed to take place," he said.
Lamb was sentenced to 50 hours’ community work and given a clear message by the judge.
"This behaviour stops now."
