A Gateshead dad has been cleared of three allegations of exposure at a Tyneside bus station. Roger Makin, 61, was found not guilty of three charges of exposure at Heworth Bus Station, following a trial at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court.
Alleged incidents
The court heard that the alleged incidents occurred on three consecutive Wednesdays in September and October last year, at roughly the same time. Sandra Fife, prosecuting, said that on the first two occasions, a bus passenger reported seeing Makin and took a picture, which was given to Nexus security staff. During the third alleged incident, two police officers spotted him with his penis exposed and arrested him.
Mr Makin, of Sherburn Way in Felling, Gateshead, pleaded not guilty to the charges and stood trial on Wednesday.
Witness evidence
A witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was on a bus pulling into the station at around 6.30pm on Wednesday September 17 when she saw a man expose himself. When asked how it made her feel, she said: "Disgusted." She said she saw the same man do the same thing the following Wednesday and took a picture, which she passed to Nexus security staff.
Dave Smith, defending, said Makin denied being the person the witness saw on September 17. "He disputes that on the first occasion he was the male you saw," he said. "My client's case is that person wasn't him."
Police evidence
Two police officers working in plain clothes at Heworth Police Station on the following Wednesday said they spotted a man they recognised from the picture given to Nexus. PC Smith said she arrested the man.
Mr Makin told the court he often went for a drink in Newcastle after work on a Wednesday because his daughter asked him not to come straight home during her guitar lessons. However, he said he did not go to the pub on September 17 and would have travelled straight home, not being at the bus station at 6.30pm.
He said on September 24 he had a drink at the Mile Castle in Newcastle and, due to bladder trouble, had to relieve himself after getting off the Metro at Heworth. "I probably need to relieve myself more often than what's normal," he said. "By the time I got half-way home I really needed to go. I was going to try to hold on as long as I could, but by the time I got there I really needed to go and had to relieve myself. I tried to be as discreet as I could. I thought I was out of sight. I obviously misjudged it. I was hoping I wouldn't be noticed. It was an error of judgement."
Verdict
Mr Smith explained that Makin said he did not expose himself when seen by police on the third Wednesday. Magistrates found Mr Makin not guilty of the charges and the case was dismissed.
