A RYEDALE flasher exposed himself to schoolgirls on their way to a village shop, York Crown Court heard.

Five pupils from a girls’ boarding school for children up to the age of 13 saw Thorin Tuan Darling, 20, standing in the hall of his house with the door wide open.

Howard Shaw, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Darling exposed himself on up to ten occasions and he was wearing only a t-shirt or nothing at all.

His home was on the direct route between the school and their local shop.

After police arrested him, Darling later exposed himself on a bridleway in the countryside to a woman walking her dog.

“In my judgement, in the same way you waited for those young girls to pass your home, you waited for a female to pass you so that you could abuse yourself in the presence of the female,” Recorder Alan Hedworth QC told him. “That is a deliberate series of acts which obviously causes this court considerable concern.”

He said the best way to protect the public was to let Darling keep his freedom so he could get treatment which would stop him exposing himself in future.

Darling, formerly of Terrington, near Malton, pleaded guilty to three offences of indecent exposure and was given a community order with two years’ supervision and was ordered to go on a sex offenders’ treatment programme. He was also put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years.

In an unusual move, a court had put him under a daytime curfew since September to prevent him flashing.

Helen Hendry, mitigating, said: “He is at a loss for words to understand exactly why he does that. He has a very troubled background and he has got major issues which need to be addressed.”

The court was told Darling was willing to go on a counselling course, as suggested by a psychiatrist who had interviewed him.

Mr Shaw said the schoolgirls saw Darling on two different days in April and May and told staff at their school, who alerted police. Darling admitted to police he had stood in a similar position in his hall on up to ten occasions.

After he pleaded guilty to exposing himself to the schoolgirls, Darling exposed himself in September to the dog-walker. Another woman approached and Darling apologised to the dog-walker. She also contacted police.