A man has sent shocked playground parents aquiver by streaking naked before a planned bath in the Murray River.
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Michael James Bassett thought the kids in the playground were cheering him on.
But his antics horrified older onlookers, who quickly converged on police after they arrived.
The 44-year-old was walking off (having put on jeans though nothing else, not even underwear) with another man just after the incident at Albury’s Oddies Creek playground on Sunday afternoon.
It landed him in the dock of Albury Local Court this week on charges of carry out a sexual act with another without consent and wilful and obscene public exposure, to which he pleaded guilty.
The first charge related to what Bassett did during his run around the playground.
Police said they received “a number of telephone calls” from 3.54pm “in relation to a male person being naked and chasing children around the river bank”.
They spoke to several adults and children.
“This male person … was chasing youths around the park area naked, at the same time holding his penis in both hands and swinging it around in the direction of the youths in a helicopter motion … ”
The other man told police he was “just trying to help him get his clothes back on” and didn’t do anything indecent.
Bassett, police said, was “seriously” affected by alcohol, having got through almost a litre of cask wine, Moselle, that day.
But he still tried to offer-up an excuse.
“He said the kids were laughing and clapping him, which he considered as encouragement to take his clothes off.”
Bassett will be sentenced on April 10.
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