A BRAMPTON man who was found in a drunken stupor outside Carlisle’s railway station exposed himself to a paramedic who was trying to help him.
Adam Harrison, 42, who admitted an offence of exposure, was found clearly intoxicated and on ground, which caused concerned members of the public to call for an ambulance, the city’s Rickergate court was told.
Prosecutor Scott Parker outlined the facts.
He described how a paramedic approached and spoke to the defendant as he lay on the ground, which Harrison responded to by making an obscene suggestion to the man.
Despite this behaviour, the paramedic managed to help Harrison into the ambulance, where he was checked over and found to be physically okay. He was, however, taken to The Cumberland Infirmary for further checks.
While there, he was put in a waiting room but at some point he placed himself close to a nurse, who was left feeling uncomfortable.
The paramedic sought to protect the woman by placing himself between her and the defendant.
It was at this point, said Mr Parker, that Harrison pulled down his trousers and exposed himself, asking the paramedic: “What do you think of that?” The paramedic told him to stop behaving that way.
He later reported that what happened left him feeling “very uncomfortable” at a time when he was trying to do his job.
“They told the defendant to go to the waiting room, at which point he laid on the floor and the police were then contacted,” said Mr Parker.
John Smith, for Harrison, of Fell View, Brampton, said there was no suggestion that the defendant had targeted anybody. He had simply been found “comatose” outside the railway station.
“Members of the public contacted the ambulance service and they took him to the hospital with a potential head injury,” said Mr Smith.
“This is a man who has a big problem with alcohol. It’s especially a problem with binge drinking; he also has mental health difficulties He’s in supported accommodation, but I don’t think the support is always there.”
Harrison also had a heart condition, added Mr Smith.
District Judge John Temperley said the offence was essentially down to the defendant consuming “excess alcohol” rather than any underlying problem of a sexual nature.
The defendant’s criminal record was consistent with that interpretation, containing drink related offending but nothing sexual. The judge also noted the mental health issues that lay in the background.
He fined the defendant £250, with £85 costs and a £120 victim surcharge. There was also a £50 fine for a Bail Act offence. Because of the nature of the sentence, said the judge, the defendant’s name would not have to go on to the Sex Offender Register.
But the judge warned that the offence was now on Harrison’s record and any similar future offending may be dealt with differently.
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