Swedish court rules it IS legal to masturbate in public (if it's not directed at anyone specific)

Man, 65, acquitted of sexual assault after masturbating on beach

Court ruled he committed no crime since he was not directing his action towards a specific person

Anyone doing the same in the UK would face charge of indecent exposure

A court in Sweden has ruled that it is acceptable to masturbate in public as long as it is not directed at anyone.

The ruling came in a landmark judgement following a case brought against a man seen touching himself on a beach.

The 65-year-old man, who dropped his shorts close to the water at Drevviken beach, Stockholm, and started to masturbate, was initially charged with sexual assault.

But in a surprise ruling, the Södertörn District Court acquitted the man. While the judgement stated it 'may be proven that the man exposed himself and masturbated on this occasion', it subsequently added that no offence had been committed.

Södertörn District Court, pictured, has acquitted a man accused of sexual assault for masturbating on a beach, because it was not directed at anyone

It based its finding on the fact that the man was not pleasuring himself towards a specific person, according to Sweden's English language news website, The Local .



Prosecutors held their hands up in agreement, underlining that the law calls for the act to be directed at another person to count as a crime.

Public prosecutor Olof Vrethammar told the Mitti newspaper that he wasn't planning to appeal the ruling.

He told the paper, quoted in The Local: '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.'

The 65-year-old man was initially accused of sexual assault after he pleasured himself on an inland beach at Drevviken, near Stockholm, Sweden

The decision raises questions about whether public masturbation will now be acceptable across Sweden, so long as it is not directed at another person.

Mr Vrethammar appeared to think so, 'The district court has made a judgement on this case. With that we can conclude that it is okay to masturbate on the beach. The act may be considered to be disorderly conduct' he said.



Sweden, like its Scandinavian neighbours, tends to have a more tolerant and sometimes progressive approach to social issues.

INDECENT EXPOSURE: HOW THE LAW WORKS IN BRITAIN

In the UK, indecent exposure comes under The Sexual Offences Act 2003. It involves the public display of parts of the anatomy in a manner that may be offensive to others and morally unacceptable. Instances brought to court include people exposing themselves in a manner considered indecent and particularly offensive to others on trains, buses and other public areas. Masturbation or touching oneself in view of the public in a blatantly sexual manner is covered by the law.

The test of decency or otherwise depends on the audience, the community rules and whether or not the exposure is intended to and/or does repel the public.

Sunbathing for example, in few or even no clothes, is unlikely to cause offence and therefore constitute indecent exposure.

If convicted, the most likely penalty is a fine and/or community service rather than a custodial sentence, although indecent exposure can result in a maximum jail term of 24 months, depending on the circumstances.

But this landmark ruling raises concerns over the extent to which people will take advantage of the freedom to masturbate with impunity in public.

Dr Liz Davies, a Reader in Child Protection at London Metropolitan University who has carried out research into Sweden's child protection system, said she thought this ruling was surprising.

'Sweden has a really robust child protection system and very rigorous investigation around sexual abuse.



'So this judgement is surprising given that such an act could be witnessed by children as well as adults' she said.



The case comes hot on the heels of a recent similar judgement, in which a 15-year-old boy was acquitted of sexual assault after he threw his underwear into a lake and stood naked in front of two underage girls.

Both girls had requested the boy be charged with molestation, but the Södertörn District Court ruled that his behaviour was not of a sexual nature so the charge was dismissed, according to The Local.