Man who denied masturbating in public in Cork town said he was sanding paint roller 

A man who was charged with masturbating in his car as a schoolgirl walked past the window has told the district court that he was actually sanding the handle of a paint roller that was between his legs.

Prosecuting Inspector Tony O’Sullivan told Mallow District Court that Csaba Szentesi, 52, of Evergreen Buildings, Cork was charged with a single count of masturbating in public under Section 45-2-C of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017. 

A Hungarian interpreter was present in court to assist Mr Szentesi who denied the charge; after evidence the case was dismissed. 

Alleged incident 

Garda Shay Dempsey said that the alleged incident occurred in Midleton Co. Cork on September 29, 2021 at 8.20am. 

A video recording of an interview with the alleged injured party, who was 16-years-old at the time of the incident, was played to the court.

During the interview the girl said that she was walking to school when she walked past a parked car that had its engine running. 

She said she glanced at the car because she heard the engine and saw a middle-aged, bald, white man sitting in the driver’s seat. 

She said the man was “squinting” and looked like he was masturbating by moving up and down. 

The girl said she walked a few paces further on and looked once more and saw the man’s erect penis and said that his pants were pulled down about half way between his waist and his knees.

The girl said that after she realised what was happening she took a picture of the car. 

She added that she saw two younger schoolgirls approaching and stood in the way so they would not see the man at which point he drove away. 

The girl said she was very upset by what happened and had to be sent home from school. She added that she did not feel safe walking to school for about a week afterwards.

Defence counsel John Colthurst BL acting for solicitor Killian McCarthy said that it was not the defence’s case that the girl was lying but that she was simply mistaken. 

Statement

In a statement Mr Szentesi told the court that he was a painter by trade and was married with two children. 

He said that he had arrived in Midleton that morning on his way to a job and stopped for something to eat and a cigarette.

Mr Szentesi said that he had a new paint roller that had a “glossy handle” and he was sanding it down because it was too slippery. 

He told the court that it was between his legs and that anyone looking in the window might think it was a penis. 

He said: “I am convinced what the young girl saw was the paint roller. Even an adult could confuse the situation.” 

Mr Colthurst said that there were minor discrepancies in the girl’s evidence. 

He said in earlier statements the girl said she did not see Mr Szentesi’s hands while in a latter statement she did see them. 

Similarly in an early statement she said that Mr Szentesi was not moving aggressively while in a later statement she said he was. 

Mr Colthurst said that the witness could be filing in the blanks of her memory and may not have actually seen what she thought she saw.

Judge commended girl 

Judge Colm Roberts commended the girl for how she conducted herself in court where she appeared by video link and in the video interview. 

He said: “If this was decided on the balance of probabilities I would have no problem convicting this man but because of the seriousness of the charge it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. On that basis I cannot convict because the evidence does not reach the required threshold.” 

The judge said he found the defendant’s explanation novel and told Mr Colthurst: “If your client is cleaning handles again make sure he doesn’t do it near schoolchildren.” 

The case was dismissed.