British lawyer Mark Pittaway, former director of Thursfields Solicitors, was convicted of five counts of indecent exposure for showing his genitals to at least four schoolgirls over a three-year period. He was accused of pulling his workout shorts to one side to expose his genitals to schoolchildren who were on their way to school or waiting for the bus while he jogged around Dorset County in southwest England.
Pittaway denied he deliberately exposed himself to the children, even after being shown footage of the incident, as reported by Roll on Friday:
The solicitor claimed to police that if anyone had seen his genitals it was “purely accidental” and a result of him wearing short shorts.
When he was shown CCTV footage he conceded that his genitals were on display, but maintained that he must have been hitching up his shorts to “scratch his groin area”.
Several of the victims testified against Pittaway:
Four eyewitnesses gave evidence at his trial. One said that “nearly every day for two years, this man would flash his genitals to me. I was in school. Walking to and from school. It was horrible. I would go to school scared and frightened of what will happen to me. I thought he would’ve raped me or done stuff to me. I have never been so scared in my life. It has degraded me as a woman and I felt targeted. When it first happened I was fourteen years old. I was a child”.
A second victim said, “This incident left me feeling so uncomfortable going into school. It got to the point that I would always make sure I was with someone or get a lift….I would think about the other children who must have seen this. There must have been so many children”.
Convicted on all counts, Pittaway will avoid jail, though there are some unique conditions:
Convicted of all five charges, Pittaway was given a suspended 12 month sentence and a 12 week curfew between 9pm and 9am.
For a period of ten years he was also prohibited from exercising in a public place unless he wears trousers, or shorts that are at least knee length and have no fly. In addition he was banned from jogging from Monday to Friday 7am-9am and 4.30pm-6.30pm, or at any time within sight of any school premises.
Additionally, there are professional consequences. Pittaway self reported to the Solicitors Regulatory Authority.
He was also his firm’s compliance officer, and reported himself to the SRA in 2021. He informed the regulator that “Last Thursday I was charged with offences, all of which I deny, but which are likely to become public knowledge at some stage whereby both the reputation of my firm and that of the profession might be harmed. They are not fraud or dishonesty related but may attract media attention nonetheless”.
He was subsequently struck off the roll of solicitors and will pay costs of £2,850.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
