Mohammad Tajer, 52, of Shepparton, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to charges of engaging in a sexual activity in the presence of children, and engaging in a sexual activity directed at another person.
He is also charged on different matters with making a threat to kill, failing to stop on police direction, stalking, criminal damage and committing an indictable offence while on bail.
The court heard Tajer masturbated under his clothing while sitting on a bench near a playground area at the lake about 3.20pm on October 20 last year.
Several children were playing nearby at the time.
Police said Tajer went to nearby toilets before coming out and lying down on the grass and continued to masturbate while staring at two young women who were filming themselves for social media about 40m away.
Tajer’s solicitor Karyn Werner told the court Tajer had moved from Syria to Australia, and was “petrified about going back into custody” after spending 95 days in pre-sentence detention.
She told how a psychological report had indicated there was “no evidence he is a risk of committing further sexual offences”.
Magistrate Olivia Trumble had ordered Tajer be assessed for a community corrections order, but said it had come back saying he was unsuitable “culturally, mentally and in terms of language”.
Ms Trumble sentenced Tajer to 95 days in jail, but ruled all of that time had already been served in pre-sentence detention.
The jail term was for the sexual offences at the lake, as well as the charges of making a threat to kill, stalking and criminal damage.
He was also put on the sex offenders’ register for eight years.
He was also placed on a good behaviour undertaking for 12 months on the charges of failing to stop on police direction, committing an offence while on bail and careless driving.
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