A YORK man who admitted exposing himself to teenage girls has avoided a prison sentence.

Richard Fac, 52, of Nunnery Lane, admitted exposing himself to a group of girls in North Street, York, on February 11.

The girl, who was under 18 at the time, was with friends in a garden close to North Street, at about 7pm on February 11.

At about 8.30pm, they decided to walk into town, and but saw Fac with his back to them and his tracksuit bottoms around his knees.

Martin Butterworth, prosecuting, said Fac had “appeared to be drunk or on drugs”, and the girls felt “scared and disgusted” after the incident.

Officers arrived shortly afterwards and found Fac admitted exposing himself to the girls during a police interview.

Richard Minion, mitigating, said Fac “was not planning to engage in this sort of behaviour”, and “thought he was secluded” from the girls when he began committing the indecent act.

He said: “Clearly he is a man with some difficulties, mental health problems and physical problems, and has been in and out of prison in the past.

He was walking through the area on his way home and came to the point he felt the urge to behave in that manner. He felt he was in the part of the park away from the females and that seems to be borne out by their statement.”

Fac was previously jailed for three years in 1993 after committing an act of gross indecency with a man then threatening to tell his friends about it.

He was also jailed in 1996 for ten years for blackmailing a wealthy retired businessman and his brother out of more than £124,000, and in 2006 was jailed for five years after admitting blackmailing an elderly pensioner.

Mr Minion said Fac told him “this was a one-off occasion, rather than a return to previous behaviour”, and worried that if he were to be sent to prison again, he would be homeless and suffering from mental health issues on release.

Magistrate Bernard Everitt said: “It is over 20 years since you have offended in a similar way, and we have taken that into account. As a direct alternative to a custodial sentence, we are making a 24-month community order.”

Fac was also put on the sex offender’s register, issued with a six-month curfew, and ordered to pay costs and a victim surcharge totalling £145.