A MAN who claimed he was just caught short when he exposed himself to an 18-year-old girl as she walked down a Chard alleyway could face a prison sentence in the New Year.

The victim was walking to a friend’s house near Victoria Avenue when she saw Justin Hembrow walking ahead of her and he looked back at her twice before heading into a short alleyway.

When she turned the corner to walk through the shortcut she was shocked to see the defendant standing with his penis exposed and “grinning from ear to ear”.

Distressed by what she saw, the girl ran out of the other end of the alleyway and flagged down two police officers who were nearby.

When they went back to the location they found the defendant stood in the same position and he was “fumbling with his groin area”.

When Hembrow appeared in court he claimed he had not intentionally exposed himself but was “desperate for a wee” after he was unable to get into his house in the next street as he didn’t have a key.

The 24-year-old defendant, of Victoria Avenue, Chard, pleaded not guilty to a charge of intentionally exposing his genitals intending that someone would see them and be caused alarm or distress at Chard on September 11.

When he appeared in the dock before Somerset Magistrates at Yeovil they were told he was currently awaiting trial next year for another offence of exposure and was also now in breach of a crown court suspended prison sentence.

Prosecutor Ben Winzer said that on the day in question the victim was walking in the lane near Victoria Park in Chard at 11am when she saw Hembrow ahead of her and he looked back at her twice.

“He then entered an alleyway and the young woman walked into it shortly afterwards and immediately saw the defendant standing there with his back to the wall facing the centre of the narrow alleyway and with his penis exposed,” he said.

“There was brief eye contact made between the two of them and the victim said that Hembrow was grinning from ear to ear as he looked at her.

“She did not speak to the defendant but continued walking along the lane and a short while later she saw two police community support officers who were in the vicinity, flagged them down and informed them what had just occurred.

“When the police went back to the alleyway the defendant was still there at the top of the alleyway and it appeared as if he was fumbling with his groin area when he saw them.”

When they spoke to Hembrow he admitted being in the lane when the victim walked through but said he had been “really desperate” and was urinating and had then tried to put his penis away when he saw her.

Mr Winzer said that a subsequent search of the alleyway revealed no evidence of any urination having taken place.

When Hembrow was later interviewed he said he had been sent home from work due to sickness and diarrhoea and as he walked through the park and into the lane he needed to urinate.

He said that as soon as he saw the lady he turned and put his penis away and said he had not intentionally exposed himself or intended to cause anybody alarm or distress.

Giving evidence from the witness box, the victim said that when she walked through the alleyway she saw Hembrow who was leant up against the wall and then became aware he had his penis exposed to her.

“I looked at him in the eyes and he was grinning at me like as if to say, ‘come on, do something’,” she said.

“I felt disgusted. I am a young girl and after being exposed to something like this it has affected me in ways I would not have imagined it would.

“I was speechless and shocked and did not say a word but just walked past and got to the end of the alleyway. I turned back to see if he was following me but he was just standing there.”

She said that immediately after the offence she found it hard to sleep at night and said she could not turn the light off without worrying that he might be there.

“I had so much on my mind and was being affected at work and would have to take myself out of the room and calm down a little,” she said.

“A few months passed and when I was told I would have to attend court everything came flooding back, and to this day I still can’t sleep properly at night.”

Hembrow, who was tearful and distressed throughout the trial hearing, maintained that he has just been “dying to go to the toilet”.

He said: “I went to go and have a wee and saw the girl coming so I stood back and tried to put my penis away but obviously I didn’t do it quick enough.

“I was distraught that she saw me and did not intend for anyone to see me. And when the police came back I was trying to have a wee for the second time but put it away again.

“All I was doing was just having a wee and I am sorry to the lady who saw it. It was not my intention.”

Chair of the Magistrates Lindsay Higgins said they had found the victim’s account of the incident “compelling” and although clearly distressed had given clear and calm evidence.

However she told Hembrow that he had not turned away straight away from the victim and he was still in the same position without having urinated by the time the police arrived at the alleyway.

“Because of this we find that you did intentionally expose your genitals and find you guilty of the offence beyond all reasonable doubt,” she said.

The magistrates committed Hembrow to Taunton Crown Court for sentence saying they did not feel they had adequate powers to deal with the case.

They ordered him to appear before a judge at Taunton on January 24 and in the meantime requested the Probation Service to prepare a pre-sentence report.

Until his sentencing hearing the defendant was released on unconditional bail.