A swimmer’s bizarre excuse for inappropriate behavior in a sauna leads to court proceedings and a guilty plea for public indecency
Bolton: A strange incident happened at a university leisure center. A swimmer, Xin Zhang, 59, was caught in the sauna with his shorts down. He claimed he was just trying to warm up.
Witnesses saw him touching himself while staring at a woman through the glass. The court heard he was aroused by the pool jets. Staff confronted him and called the police.
Zhang admitted to touching himself but denied it was sexual. He said he was cold after swimming and just trying to warm his private parts. The court didn’t buy his story.
During the trial, the magistrates found inconsistencies in his account. They ruled that his actions were for sexual gratification. Zhang will be sentenced in June.
He had been a regular at the Tom Husband Leisure Centre for over ten years. On the day of the incident, he had swum for nearly an hour before heading to the sauna.
The woman who saw him testified that he pulled his pants down and started touching himself. She felt shocked and vulnerable. Staff members also noticed her distress.
Zhang claimed he was just adjusting himself due to eczema. He said he was cold and tired. However, the staff had seen him do strange things before, raising concerns.
In court, Zhang insisted he was just trying to warm up. But the magistrates found his explanations inconsistent. They ordered a pre-sentence report before his upcoming sentencing.
