creep appeals | 

Exposed: Ex-soldier (67) who performed sex act outside school is freed on bail

As the schoolgirl got closer to the vehicle, she could see the man was “lying back, his trousers were down, his penis exposed and he was masturbating,” said the lawyer

Today at 19:42

An pensioner who performed a sex act on himself while parked outside a school has been handed a four month jail sentence.

In addition, 67-year-old Robert James McCluskey from Belfast was also ordered to sign the police sex offenders register for seven years. However, despite the jail sentence handed out by Dep. District Judge Philip Mateer, the ex-soldier turned sleaze is not in prison but instead freed on bail pending an appeal.

At the end of his brief trial earlier this year McCluskey, from the Rank Road in Dundonald, was convicted of exposing his genitals “intending that someone would see them and be caused alarm or distress” and indecent behaviour arising from an incident on the Upper Lisburn Road in Finaghy.

On Thursday at Coleraine Magistrates Court a prosecutor outlined how, just after 10am on 3 February this year, a pupil from Hunterhouse college was in her uniform and walking to school when she saw a parked car and the driver was “looking directly at her.”

As the schoolgirl got closer to the vehicle, she could see the man was “lying back, his trousers were down, his penis exposed and he was masturbating,” said the lawyer, adding that the girl quickly caught up with her friends and when they for to the safe haven of their school, she told the vice principle who alerted the police.

Thankfully, the schoolgirl had the wherewithal to note down the car registration and using that, police were able to arrest McCluskey at his home in east Belfast.

McCluskey was questioned about the incident and although he accepted he was the only one who drove the car, “it said it wasn’t him.”

Defence counsel Sean O’Hare revealed that McCluskey still maintained he did nothing wrong and that he intends to appeal both the conviction and the sentence.

Lodging a plea in mitigation he told the court the offence was McCluskey’s first ever conviction, highlighting that he had always been in employment and “indeed was in the services as well.”

Sentencing McCluskey, who appeared at court by videolink, DJ Mateer said the “obvious aggravating factor is that this was an offence targeted at and performed with or towards what were obviously schoolgirls outside an educational establishment.”

“Therefore the sentence has to reflect that and he has pleaded not guilty and according to the pre-sentence report, intends to appeal that conviction so there is no discount for a plea,” said the judge.

He told McCluskey the case “obviously” crossed the custody threshold so he imposed a four month prison sentence which triggers a requirement for the creep to sign the sex register for seven years.

In addition, DJ Mateer also imposed a five year Sexual Offences Prevention order which, as part of it’s conditions prohibits the pervert pensioner from being within 200 metres of any primary or secondary school or college between 8-10 am and fro 2-5pm “based on the fact there’s a need to protect children.”

Initially ordered to surrender himself into custody by lunchtime on Friday, following an application by Mr O’Hare the defendant was freed on bail pending an appeal.