Man exposed himself to girl, 12
A FLASHER with a history of exposing himself to young children in the Gympie and Fraser Coast areas has now shown his genitals to a 12-year-old girl at a Brisbane pool.
Steven Paul Barney, 55, did not react as Brisbane District Court heard the string of indecent exposures to children, once to a family of seven children aged 11 to two.
The father of 11 children, who grew up in Gympie and spent a large portion of his life on the Fraser Coast, also had history of behaving similarly in NSW and the Northern Territory.
Crown prosecutor Sam Bain said Barney had once asked four young girls to have sex with him and to remove his underwear.
He said the criminal history showed no previous sentences had deterred the man from exposing himself.
Defence barrister Julian Noud said his client was clearly intoxicated when police arrived at the Sandgate pool to reports of indecent exposure in February this year.
"He's been in the grip of an alcohol addiction for most of his life," he said.
"He accepts this is and continues to be a problem."
Mr Noud said Barney, who had white hair and a long white beard, was an Aboriginal man who felt disconnected from his land and his culture.
He said he turned to alcohol whenever he had a breakdown.
Judge Grant Britton sentenced Barney to the 174 days he has already spent in custody and ordered him to complete nine months of probation.
