A 54-year-old woman exposed her breasts and pleasured herself as she sat on a bench in broad daylight outside a supermarket, a court heard.
Beverley Dean was spotted performing the sex act on herself by two office workers. The eyewitnesses saw her touch her genitals under her skirt as she sat on the river bank near the Waitrose store in Northwich in Cheshire.
She appeared to be filming herself, but police found no footage on her mobile phone. Dean then stood up from the bench and exposed her breasts through her unbuttoned blouse, the court was told.
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When police were called to the scene, officers discovered sex toys and lubricant in her handbag. Dean is now facing a jail term after admitting a charge of outraging public decency.
She wept at Chester Magistrates' Court as she was told the charge carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison. The court heard how the incident happened at around 3.30pm on February 25 this year.
Dean had sat down on a bench overlooking the River Dane. She was seen by two women from CRS Consultants which has an office on the other side of the river.
Miss Shannen Carey, prosecuting, told the court: "The defendant is seen to put her fingers in her mouth and then proceed to put them between her legs. She appeared to be masturbating.
"She had her mobile phone in her right hand and appeared to be filming herself or taking photos of herself performing the act. She stopped to smoke a cigarette and then continued to suck on her fingers and placed them between her legs.
"After she did this she stood up from the bench and both breasts were exposed. Her blouse was unbuttoned and her coat was hanging off her shoulders.
"Officers were called and the defendant was arrested. Her property was searched and an assortment of sex toys and lubricants were found in the defendant’s bag."
Miss Carey said there were no sentencing guidelines for that offence in particular, but said that the Crown Prosecution Service suggested looking at the guidelines for exposure as a reference point.
“It is aggravated that it was in a public place and there was the risk of the presence of children," the prosecutor said.
Dean, from Rudheath in Northwich, had no previous convictions before this offence. Defence solicitor Shane O’Neill, said: "This is a matter that will need the intervention of the probation service. There is a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity and there are no previous convictions.
"We need to know what is happening within her life as she is getting to an age and committing this offence. There was some suggestion that she was filming herself.
"But when the police took her phone there was nothing on it. The officer looked at it and said there was nothing recorded on it.
"There was no room for any children to go past. We are not disputing that children may have been in the area but what she said is that there weren't any children in the area. She accepts responsibility for what she did."
The magistrates adjourned the hearing for probation reports to be prepared. Chairman James Fawson said: "The bench are going to need to know more about you and in order for that to happen the probation service will prepare a report.
"Between now and your next court appearance, the things that need to happen are that you stay in regular contact with your legal representative and fully cooperate with the probation service. That way, the next bench can sentence you fairly and with confidence."
Dean was granted unconditional bail until the sentencing hearing on August 12.
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