This man is not pointed at anyone.

This man is not pointed at anyone.

Update 19/9/2013, 16.26: This story has been updated with a more correct translation of Vrethammer’s statement.

A COURT IN Sweden has found a man who masturbated in public not guilty of criminal charges, as he was not pleasuring himself at anyone in particular.

The ruling comes after a 65-year-old man took off his shorts and began masturbating on a beach in Stockholm.

He was charged with sexual assault, but found innocent last week as his act was not “targeted”, The Local reports.

Public prosecutor Olof Vrethammer said he agreed with the Södertörn District Court’s ruling. He said:

For this to be a criminal offence it’s required that the sexual molestation was directed towards one or more people. I think the court’s judgement is reasonable.

Asked whether masturbation was OK as long as nobody was targeted, Vrethammer said the ruling was valid only “for this individual case”, adding that masturbation could still “possibly be considered disorderly behaviour”.

h/t André Liljegren and Patricia Bondesson-Kavanagh