A Fife man found guilty of “alarming” his village neighbours by twice exposing himself at his front door claims he was urinating because he could not get upstairs to his toilet.
Douglas Keir, 68, was seen holding his penis in February last year by a couple driving home from the cinema and ten months later, by a man looking from his home on the street.
Keir, of Crossford, claimed he had a reasonable excuse that he was urinating at the doorway because of difficulties getting to his upstairs toilet and having trouble peeing into bottles.
He denied an allegation of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, likely to cause a reasonable person fear or alarm, by standing in his open front doorway with his penis exposed.
Keir was found guilty of the charge by a sheriff after a trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court
where he appeared throughout in a wheelchair.
‘Alarming’ sight
A woman in her 50s told the trial she was returning home from the cinema with her husband by car at around 5pm on February 22 last year when she saw Keir at his door.
“I was very alarmed to find him standing in his doorframe exposing himself.
“He was leaning on the doorframe with one arm. He still had his trousers up but fly open and holding (his penis) in his own hand.
“I just blurted out ‘he has his c**k in his hand’.
“I just shouted ‘oh my god, he has got his c**k out’ and my partner looked and called him a dirty b***ard”.
Asked by prosecutor Brogan Moffat how she felt at the sight, the woman said: “I was obviously very shocked then quite alarmed.
“I was annoyed with the gentleman.”
The woman’s partner told the trial he looked over his shoulder and saw Keir exposing himself after his partner’s exclamation.
“He had one hand up on the doorframe and the other hand was down on his penis.”
Second exposure
Another man, in his 50s, told the trial that around 11.30am on December 27 last year he was walking around while on the phone in his living room when he looked out of his open blinds and saw Keir across the street.
“The door to the property was open and he was stood in his doorway and I noticed he had his penis out.
“His trousers were up. It looked like his fly had been lowered and his penis was out.”
The man said he felt “uncomfortable” and “slightly alarmed” and called the police.
He said the cul-de-sac links to a footpath and other houses and he did not feel this was “at all appropriate or correct behaviour”.
During cross examination, Keir’s defence lawyer suggested to Crown witnesses his client could have been urinating at the door.
Support workers back accused
Giving evidence in defence, two of Keir’s support workers told the trial his health and mobility deteriorated and he was having difficulties getting to and from the toilet upstairs – the only one in the house.
One of the staff said they believed he was urinating at the back door.
Asked by Keir’s defence lawyer about the front door, the woman said: “There have been suggestions there were smells of urine at the front step and carpet on the front door, so yes”.
The court heard a commode is now required but this only arrived about six weeks ago.
The support worker said Keir had two urine bottles but his attempts to use them were “not successful”.
The support worker said a stair lift assessment had been carried out but it was not feasible to install one.
Both support workers suggested Keir was initially reluctant to accept support but has become more willing latterly.
Convicted ‘reluctantly’
Sheriff Paul Ralph said he found all witnesses in the trial credible and reliable and told Keir he would “somewhat reluctantly” convict him.
The court heard Keir does have a criminal record, though no details were given.
Sheriff Ralph said his intention is to defer sentence until October 1 for Keir to show good behaviour “so that this hopefully does not happen again, now we have the commode”.
The sheriff suggested the case will be dealt with leniently if he behaves.
For more local court content visit our page or join us on Facebook.
