Grubby flasher who left Southsea jogger horrified after exposing himself is free to walk streets after avoiding jail - but is given conditions over female contact

But sexual deviant Leslie Croucher, 53, has been slapped with conditions over his contact with women after he bared his genitals to a horrified female enjoying a run on a sunny morning at Southsea Rock Gardens on April 4.

Croucher had ‘rubbed his hand up and down’ toward the lone female in the location frequently enjoyed by families and children.

It sparked a frantic search to locate the seedy criminal amid concerns of a sexual predator in the community.

Croucher, of Baythorn Close, Buckland, was subsequently located a day after the police appeal later in the month but denied any wrongdoing with a trial date listed.

However, at the start of his trial at Portsmouth Crown Court last month Croucher admitted a charge of exposure – representing a triumph for the police and the female who was subjected to the ordeal.

No contact was made with the ‘shocked’ woman, who was not injured during the incident.

Now Croucher, appearing at Salisbury Crown Court for sentence, was handed his punishment for the offence nearly a year on.

But despite warnings last month from a judge of a possible jail term and a ‘priority concern to protect the public’, Croucher remains free to roam the streets after he was handed a three-year community order.

The pervert, who has a previous offence for flashing to his name, was handed 25 rehabilitation days to complete.

He was also slapped with a sexual harm prevention order and a sex offenders registration requirement for five years and complete a rehabilitative Horizon programme.

The sex offender was also prohibited from having any physical contact with any female other than ‘inadvertent and not reasonably avoidable in the course of lawful daily life’, or unless ‘he has consent of the female who has knowledge of his convictions’.

He was also banned from ‘placing his hands within his clothing to touch his genitals or touching his genitals through clothing when in a public place other than when he is inside a public toilet’.

As reported, the incident had sparked the woman to post on social media about her ordeal in order to warn others, sparking concern in the community.

The victim, speaking after Croucher’s court appearance last month, said: ‘I just want to put it behind me now.’

At that hearing, Hugh French, defending, said: ‘It happened in an open area where families often go and walk. It was aimed at (the victim).’

SEE ALSO: Paedophile locked up

Croucher’s failure to admit the offence meant the woman had to attend court as a witness before she was no longer needed after the guilty plea was entered.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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