Man who masturbated on train in front of girls, women gets community service

A 26-year-old man was sentenced to 60 hours of community service and a suspended prison sentence of one month for twice masturbating in a train at the Hoorn station. During the probationary period of three years, the man must report to the probation service and receive treatment from the GGZ mental healthcare service.

The man was arrested in June after multiple reports of indecent exposure. According to the court in Haarlem, the suspect confessed to two of seven incidents that were discussed at the hearing in front of the police judge. He was acquitted of five other similar incidents in which he was accused.

The man told the court that he always consciously chose to masturbate it in a stationary train. This allowed him to quickly exit the train if a woman reacted negatively towards him.

On 4 June, the man was sitting in a train compartment in front of two girls, the youngest of whom was 11 years old. Also on 16 May, the man masturbated in the presence of a young woman. This also happened in a train standing still at the Hoorn station.

The judge called it a serious and disturbing set of facts, which made women and girls feel scared and overwhelmed. One of the victims did not dare to travel by train for a period after the incident.

In determining the penalty, the police judge took into account that the man was previously convicted of masturbating in public. He was treated for this in 2018.