MAN WHO EXPOSED HIMSELF TO JOGGER IN COUNTY ANTRIM SENTENCED
A Newtownabbey man who exposed himself to a woman while she was running has been given a two-year probation order.Shane Fitzpatrick, 37, was also put on the sex offenders' register for five years and banned from entering the Carrickfergus area.
Fitzpatrick, of Glenview Crescent, was warned he could be jailed if he failed to comply with the sentence.
Belfast Magistrates' Court heard he targeted the victim on two separate dates in September.
Prosecutors said during one incident she was running along the Shore Road in Greenisland when Fitzpatrick approached her and exposed his genitals.
Later that month the woman encountered him again while on a run at the nearby Marine Highway in Carrickfergus.
She again reported seeing a man running with his genitals exposed.
Police mounted a patrol of the area and found Fitzpatrick close to the Ulster University's Jordanstown campus.
He was arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of intentional exposure to cause alarm or distress.
A defence barrister told the court Fitzpatrick had no previous convictions.
"Work can be undertaken with him to ensure there is no further offending of this type," she said.
Imposing two years' probation, District Judge Steven Keown warned the defendant: "It's absolutely crucial that this never happens again.
If it does, you could be looking at a custodial sentence." Under the terms of the order, Fitzpatrick is prohibited from any contact with the victim or entering the Carrickfergus area.
He must also engage with the authorities to identify any appropriate interventions or programmes of work to address areas of identified risk.
