GARETH MAGAHEY FROM BELFAST AVOIDS JAIL AFTER NAKED GARDEN SEX ACT IN NEWTOWNARDS
In February 2014, a man who was seen engaging in a sexual act while naked in his garden has avoided imprisonment and was instead placed on a three-year probation.Describing the incident as "quite disgusting," Judge Piers Grant of Newtownards Crown Court told 30-year-old Gareth Magahey that if there had been any evidence that children had actually seen what he was doing, "be in no doubt that a custodial sentence would be clearly appropriate and inevitable." Magahey, a former law student residing on Hyndman Street in Belfast, pleaded guilty to charges of sexual activity in the presence of a child and outraging public decency on June 13 of the previous year.
Prosecutor Sam Magee recounted that teachers at a special needs school on Meyrick Park in east Belfast observed a man stripping off his clothes and approaching the end of the driveway.
They watched as the naked individual, later identified as Magahey, concealed himself behind a bush, but managed to guide the children away and alerted the police.
When questioned, Magahey initially claimed he had been cleaning a rabbit hutch and removed his clothes because they had become dirty.
However, he later admitted that he had done it before for a "thrill" and that he simply wanted to be in the garden while naked.
He also confessed that it was "part of a game" and that he had no intention of being seen.
Defence solicitor Darren Duncan argued that Magahey's issues with his sexuality led him into a cycle of engaging with internet pornography, and that the "game" he was caught playing was an extension of those problems.
In addition to the probation sentence, Magahey was ordered to register as a sex offender for five years and was barred from working with children.
