A transgender woman has been jailed for masturbating in front of nurses at a Welsh hospital. Serial sex offender Paula Stanton, 62, of Severn Avenue, Barry, was sentenced after admitting an act outraging public decency at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff earlier this year.
Incident Details
Cardiff Magistrate's Court heard on Monday that Stanton was taken to hospital by ambulance after making threats of self-harm in the early hours of May 17. While awaiting a mental health assessment in the waiting room, she put her hand down her trousers in the groin area.
Prosecutor Lewis Ball stated: "The defendant put her hands down her leggings to the groin area. Staff could see that she had her penis in her hand and that her hand was moving up and down." The court heard that Stanton masturbated in full view of the nurses' desk, making eye contact with a nurse on duty. This occurred periodically before staff called the police.
Arrest and Previous Convictions
Upon arrest, Stanton told police: "I did nothing wrong," and answered "no comment" during her police interview. She has 12 previous convictions for 19 offences, five of which are sex offences committed between 2019 and 2025, including outraging public decency and indecent exposure.
In November 2019, Stanton received a five-year sexual harm prevention order for outraging public decency. She was given another five-year order in August 2025 for indecent exposure. The hospital offence breached a six-month suspended sentence imposed in August 2025.
Prosecutor Ball noted that the offending was aggravated by the location being a public hospital, where there is a particular need to comply with public safety laws.
Defence and Sentencing
Defence lawyer Alice Sykes said her client understood immediate custody was likely. She noted that Stanton had completed an alcohol abstinence requirement and was making progress with probation. Stanton had already served the equivalent of a two-month jail sentence while remanded in custody in May.
Recorder Barry Clarke told Stanton that only a custodial sentence was justified. He said: "In the early hours of May 17, you were taken by ambulance to the University Hospital of Wales after making threats of self harm. Several members of staff saw you masturbating on a number of occasions."
Giving credit for an early guilty plea, Recorder Clarke sentenced Stanton to just over five months imprisonment: 100 days for the May 17 offence, with 60 days consecutive for breaching the suspended sentence. Stanton will be released after serving 70 days, with the remainder on licence.
