Edinburgh Crime: RAF veteran walked through Capital street while exposing his penis

A pensioner who exposed himself on one of Edinburgh’s busiest streets has avoided being placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

William Parkinson, 83, left witnesses “shocked and upset” when they spotted him walking along the city’s George Street with his penis visible through a hole in his trousers.

Parkinson, an RAF veteran, claimed he had ripped his trousers while out shopping for his wife but denied deliberately exposing himself at around midday on September 1, 2020.

Two women called in the police and Parkinson was eventually traced and arrested at his home in the Leith area of the city.

Exposed: RAF veteran William Parkinson

The OAP stood trial over two days at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month where he was found guilty of exposing his genitals to the women in a sexual manner.

Following the trial Sheriff Thomas Welsh QC placed the retired restaurant owner on the Sex Offenders’ Register on an interim basis.

But when he returned to the dock for sentencing the sheriff said he had decided not impose that condition and instead sentenced Parkinson to pay fine of £1200 along with a victim surcharge of £75.

The first victim told the trial she and her friend were walking towards a city centre restaurant around midday when she spotted Parkinson heading towards them.

The 62-year-old told the court she saw the man “exposing his penis” and that he had “a circle cut out” at the front of his trousers.

The woman said the man had “no smile or expression” on his face and was carrying a purple bag that he used to cover his groin area.

She said: “I nudged my friend in shock and she acknowledged the sight of it also. I was in compete shock.”

The woman said she believed Parkinson’s penis to be erect and she had shouted “you are a dirty old man” at him.

The second woman, a 69-year-old company director, told the court she also saw Parkinson flashing his penis through a hole in his trousers.

She said she believed the act to be “deliberate” and that she had managed to take a picture of the man before calling the police.

Parkinson also gave evidence during the trial and said he had served in the RAF for 26 years and had been a member of the Ulster Special Constabulary for five years.

He claimed he was on an errand for his wife and had been looking for the jewellers Hamilton and Inches at the time of the incident.

He told the court he did not see anyone on George Street and after visiting the store he returned to his car to find a large hole in his trousers.

During a police interview Parkinson denied exposing himself but added: “If they saw something it was accidental because when I got back in my car I noticed there was a rip in my trousers.”

Parkinson was found guilty of intentionally exposing his genitals in a sexual manner to two women with the intention they would see them and he did repeatedly expose his penis to them at George Street, Edinburgh, on September 1, 2020.