A man who was caught masturbating by two boys in the public shower area of a leisure centre has been sentenced.
Adrian Venables, from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, was charged with and pleaded guilty to outraging public decency after he was spotted in the showers at Northgate Arena Leisure Centre in Chester on 13 August 2018.
The 56-year-old, who is 'profoundly deaf', was washing himself when two teenage boys finished a swimming lesson and entered the changing rooms, according to Cheshire Live.
At Chester Magistrates' Court, Rob Youds, prosecuting, said: "One of the boys said the male (Venables) was in the shower and started 'playing with his bits' and masturbating.
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"The male looked away at one point and was washing his chest and then started masturbating again."
According to Venables he thought he was 'masturbating privately' before the police were called and he was arrested at the centre after the boys told their parents.
Cheshire Live reported that when he was arrested, he told police he couldn't masturbate at home because he lived with his mum and didn't want to be disrespectful - so did it in the showers when he went swimming instead.
The court heard how Venables, who was a gardener for 34 years but retired on medical grounds, volunteers at Chester Deaf Club and has no previous convictions.
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Richard Sibeon, who was defending Venables, said that his client has pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity despite the case being adjourned a number of times.
A psychiatric report revealed that there was an element of 'intellectual immaturity' after there were concerns over his understanding.
Mr Sibeon explained: "The report found that his understanding of the world outside his own bubble was very limited.
"In the 1960s and 70s he attended a deaf school which at the time was using experimental methods of language, which has been wider considered now as a failure. So this left him undeveloped in terms of understanding language."
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Venables was ordered to serve a 12 month community order with up to 15 days rehabilitation activity requirement. He was fined £100 ($130), will have to pay court costs of £85 ($110) and a victim surcharge of £85.
A sexual prevention order was not imposed due to the lack of intent proved in the charge brought before Venables.