Man caught checking private parts on Wakefield Westgate was checking 'it hadn’t fallen off'

Paul Jones, 48, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday after being charged with an outraging act of public decency and the breach of a sexual harm prevention order.

Prosecutor Ms Richardson, told the court how Jones had been sitting on steps on Westgate in Wakefield on March 26 2025, when he pulled down his jogging bottoms in front of horrified members of the public.

West Yorkshire Police were called and when they arrived, Jones told arresting officers how he was just checking his private parts “hadn’t fallen off,” after it began to feel numb. When asked if he felt excited or aroused, he answered ‘yes.’

Jones pleaded guilty on the day of his trial at Bradford Crown Court. He has been in custody at HMP Leeds since March 2025.

The 48-year-old has three previous offences relating to exposure, for which he received probation and an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, which was put in place shortly before the incident. During an outburst in court, he insisted “I didn’t do anything wrong, they just took me in back of van and arrested me.”

Mitigating for Jones, defence counsel Eleanor Durdy told the court how her client was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2000, but had since stopped taking his medication after claiming it had “cured him.” He largely keeps himself to himself, and “wants to see his dog.”

She also told the court how two psychiatric reports had previously recommended hospital orders. The prison, however, deem him well enough to remain in their care.

Passing sentence, Judge Howard Crowson acknowledged both Jones’s mental health issues and guilty plea, sentencing him to 10 months imprisonment, which he has already served and said that he will be released very soon, if not immediately.

He advised the defendant to start taking his medication, and to accept the help that will be offered upon his release. He added that it would be “best if you stopped doing this.”