Let this be a lesson!!......

[bugleone]

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7095134.stm

The worrying thing is that he was in the privacy of his own room! He still finished up with a criminal conviction and is now on the 'sex offenders register' which means he is now to be considered with all the paedofiles and child molesters. And, people think the UK is a 'civilised' country!!

[raincoaster]

I think what's even more disturbing, assuming we follow the maxim that ALL men and boys masturbate and most women, EVERYBODY involved in this case, the fellow in the room, the cleaners, the Sheriff, the prosecutor, the judge, all masturbate as well. But I suppose the charge arises because everybody else involved in the case pretends they don't!!!

[bugleone]

I think it's a VERY disturbing case....

It's not like there was anyone else in the room or he was using an animal or anything,...this was just a guy getting off in his own room by whatever means. This happened in Scotland which has major problems with alchohol and substance abuse not to mention the highest UK figures for domestic violence. Instead of spending hours or police time and who knows what expense it would have been much better if the powers of law and order were out doing something of use to society instead of persecuting a lone bloke in his room.

[lykope]

Disturbing and ridiculous.

And to be placed on the sex offenders list?

I don't care that the cleaners knocked and then used a master key to get in and saw him. He might not have heard them knock. Either way, it was a breach of his privacy. There are laws in most countries and US states about having sex with children, animals, and dare I say it, dead people (and until recently, California was the only state where it necrophilia was legal-- you can't own a ferret or a gerbil but you can fuck a corpse--how's that for a sound legal system?). But masturbating with or on a bicycle?

Perversion is in the eyes of the beholder. Many religious sects see masturbation alone as perversion so just take a gander at the religious beliefs of those who prosecuted and persecuted him. And add in the bike factor, well, you got a full blown pervert on your hands.

How is it "breach of the peace" when he was in a locked room? It's not like he was in some alleyway or out in the street.

I wonder how many of the judge's or lawyer's wives have a pocket rocket hidden away or insisted on installing a shower head in the shower. Hell, how about some that just won't throw away those old electric toothbrushes?

What I'm getting at is that an inanimate object is and inanimate object. Doesn't matter if it were any of those I listed or a bike. What is a cop walked in on his wife and her trusty toothbrush? Would she be arrested for "sexually aggravated breach of the peace by conducting himself/herself in a disorderly manner and simulating sex"?

[bugleone]

Since I first saw this item on the BBC News Site last week there has been a massive response from the indiginous British public, who although as a nation are shy and introverted about sex, are a very fair minded lot of people for the most part...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/gla ... 098116.stm

'Lykope'....it's interesting how all of your points were apparently brought up by the many responders among the one million views of the original item!!......so, all sensible and civilised people think the same, it's just a sad pity that those in 'authority' don't have the brains to see that!

[footman]

I think what's even more disturbing, assuming we follow the maxim that ALL men and boys masturbate and most women, EVERYBODY involved in this case, the fellow in the room, the cleaners, the Sheriff, the prosecutor, the judge, all masturbate as well. But I suppose the charge arises because everybody else involved in the case pretends they don't!!!

Is pretty funny isn't it!

But as others have said, the key issue seems to be the "pervertedness" of the act, which although debatable, he was still doing in the privacy of his room. (Guess I should never visit there because I frequently partake in shoejobs )

Glad to see in the follow-up that many have railed against this injustice.