A 12-year-old child has been left dealing with the ongoing impact after a man exposed his genitals at a playground, a court has heard.
David Kye Brown, 50, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday, July 28, for a sentence hearing after pleading guilty to committing an act of indecency in the presence of a child.
A charge of engaging in offensive behaviour in a public place was formally withdrawn.
The court heard Brown exposed his genitals to children and families at a playground on February 23, 2026. The exposure lasted for about one second while he was roughly 10 metres away from the play area.
The prosecutor described Brown's actions as "brazen", noting the presence of multiple children and families.
He said victim impact statements from a 12-year-old child and the child's mother, which were not read out loud in court, demonstrated the "long-lasting impact" of the offence.
He noted that Brown had been sentenced two years earlier for almost identical offending.
In February 2024, Brown was handed a six-month good behaviour order after appearing to touch his penis at a skatepark for several minutes in Tuggeranong.
The prosecutor said Brown had previously been subject to a range of court-ordered interventions and supervision, but they appeared to have achieved little success.
"In my submission, what is clear from the ongoing nature of the offending and the fact that the defendant is before the court today, is that those interventions have not led to any substantial change," he said.
He argued that sentencing considerations should include specific and general deterrence, as well as the need to protect the community.
The prosecutor added that there needed to be "a sober appraisal" of what further measures could be put in place given previous interventions had failed to make a positive impact.
Brown's defence lawyer acknowledged the harm caused, and told the court that the man's long history of drug abuse and mental health issues provided context for his actions.
"I don't say any of this in any way, shape or form to trivialise the offence," he said as he made his submissions.
"It goes without saying that the families and children that were there that day shouldn't have been exposed to Mr Brown's actions, irrespective of the state that he was in."
The court heard Brown had already spent about five months in custody, and his lawyer said specific and general deterrence had, to some extent, been met by that time in custody.
Magistrate Alexandra Burt reserved her sentence for a week, saying she would benefit from a mental health report before making a decision.
"It's obviously had a significant adverse impact on the family," the magistrate said, ultimately deciding she needed to better understand Brown's mental health issues before imposing a sentence.
