A man touched his genitals whilst ‘smirking’ at two young women who were sitting on the back of a bus.
Altayeb Bashir, 21, sat on the opposite side of the bus to the women, who were sat talking on seats facing each other.
One of the women smiled at him, before she continued talking with her friend, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
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Moments later she became aware of him ‘rubbing his hands on his legs’ so she moved to sit next to her friend.
Bashir, of no fixed abode, then removed his genitals from his trousers and began masturbating whilst looking at the women and ‘smirking’.
They immediately told the bus driver who told Bashir to get off the bus, and matters were reported to the police.
He was found guilty by a jury of the offence of exposure and was today handed an 18-month community order after spending the last nine months in custody.
Prosecuting, Helena Williams told the court that the incident took place on March 24 of this year when the young women got on the bus at Woodsend, Trafford.
They sat on the back seats at the top of the bus, and, as it stopped outside Trafford Hospital, Bashir also got on the bus and went to the top deck.
As they were talking, one of the women noticed he was ‘looking her up and down’ and became aware of him rubbing his legs.
“She moved seats and went to sit next to the other woman, and both then noticed he began to make grunting noises and was staring at them,” Ms Williams said.
“They noticed his trousers were down, and one of the women thought he was going to get his penis out of his trousers.
“She later told the police she was creeped out by his behaviour.
“The defendant then pulled his penis out of his trousers and both women saw him masturbating whilst looking at them smirking.”
One of the women got her phone out to take a video of him, but only managed to take a picture.
However, he spotted her doing this and put his genitals back into his trousers, the court heard.
They then informed the driver of what had just happened.
One of the women said she was upset by what had happened, and the other said she was 'shocked and scared'.
The father of one of the women uploaded the photo she took of Bashir onto Facebook, where a police officer recognised him following a call out earlier that day wherein they took him to the hospital.
In a statement, one of the victims said it made her feel scared at the time and said Bashir was ‘unpredictable’, adding that it made her feel ‘uneasy’.
Bashir was said to have no previous convictions.
Mitigating, John Kennerley said: “The defendant has been in custody for nine months and has served the equivalent of an 18-month sentence.
“This defendant is young, he has mental health issues and has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
“He is a vulnerable individual.”
Sentencing, Recorder Michael Duck QC said: “You were on public transport when you masturbated and did so in the eyesight of these two young females.
“They acted entirely appropriately and sensibly.
“You must realise this was a serious piece of criminal behaviour.”
Bashir was handed an 18-month community order and ordered to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity requirements including the Maps for Change programme which is designed to assist individuals who have committed sexual offences.
He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.
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