Baggy-trousered teen fined for cheeky flash

Teenage boys, take note. If you must wear your pants low, at least make sure you are wearing underpants.

It is a lesson Trent Joseph Wroe, an Australian teenager has learned the hard way after a night out in Mooloolaba on February 28.

The 19-year-old faced Maroochydore Magistrates Court yesterday on a charge of public nuisance, after his pants fell down and exposed his bare bottom as he walked along the Esplanade just after midnight.

The case even managed to get a chuckle out of magistrate Tom Killeen, who advised Mr Wroe to wear a belt in future.

“I wore a belt today,” Mr Wroe said in court as he indicated to his shorts.

The incident occurred when a female police officer was walking past Mr Wroe when his pants fell down. She arrested him for public nuisance.

Police prosecutor Rick Pallister said it appeared Mr Wroe had exposed his buttocks in a “deliberate manner”.

Senior Constable Pallister said Mr Wroe exposed his bottom moments after he had spat in the direction of police.

Mr Wroe pleaded guilty to the charge, but said outside court it had all been a misunderstanding. He said he spat because he was sick and had not intended to aim his phlegm at the police.

As for the matter of the loose pants, he said he had simply borrowed jeans from a larger friend and they did not fit properly.

“I didn’t have any jeans and my mate’s a big bloke, so I chucked on some of his and they sat sweet,” Mr Wroe said.

“They just fell down in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Mr Wroe said he was delighted to get a laugh from Mr Killeen.

“I’m happy I had a good effect on someone; that’s always good if you can get a laugh out of a serious person,” he said.

Mr Wroe said the next time he went out, he would make sure he wore a belt and underpants. He also made a request to the court for the name of the female police officer he had spat near, so he could issue her a formal apology.

Mr Wroe was fined $250 (Austrialian funds, about $160). He asked if the punishment could be converted to community service so he could “give something back”.