Handyman caught masturbating to porn in front of teenage boy and his mum
A HORRIFIED teenage boy and his mum caught a handyman masturbating to porn on his mobile phone - in their communal garden.
Peter Cooke, 48, crept outside to pleasure himself away from his wife of 30 years, but was spotted when his neighbour's teenage son heard loud groaning.
The horny handyman was arrested at his home in Newquay in September 2015, and charged with outraging public decency on two separate occasions.
Cooke's trial was heard at Truro Crown Court and he was found guilty of one count of behaving in an indecent manner.
Mum Devika Dervereux told the court how they witnessed Cooke's obscene act outside their property at around 10pm on July 10, 2015.
Her son was in his bedroom when he heard moans coming from the garden. When he peered out the window he saw the 48-year-old masturbating to porn on his phone.
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Ms Dervereux said: "He [her son] came in and said, 'Mum, Pete's ******* in the garden'.
"I saw Peter disappear and he hid on some stairs. I thought, 'Oh my God, what am I witnessing'.
"I saw him grab his flip-flops before he tip-toed around the corner of the building.
"Then he came back and he said, 'Are you alright?' And I was in shock. I said, 'What were you doing'? He mumbled something about the shed.
"I didn't know what to say and then he asked me why I hadn't used the pool lately.
"I thought, 'because you are a pervert and I don't like the way you look at me'. Then we had a pretend conversation."
Cooke had allegedly been caught in the act before, with the first incident reportedly occurring sometime between April and October 2014.
The teen told of how he looked out of the window and saw Cooke "behind a trampoline in the yard with his top off and trousers around his ankles".
The stunned youngster immediately altered his mum, but she chose not to inform the police in a bid to avoid "confrontation" at the time.
The court heard that Cooke and Miss Devereux had been friends as neighbours for at least five years and that she would give him massages in her home as part of her training to become a masseuse.
But their relationship had soured because Cooke had made her feel uncomfortable by requesting massages too frequently.
Miss Devereux said: "He was a nice guy, and I respected and trusted him and we became friends. But then that changed."
The single mother claimed Cooke began letting himself into her home without knocking and made sexual remarks.
The court also heard the handyman was involved in two further incidents in 2012.
In the first incident, he was cautioned for stealing women clothes and in the second Cooke was spotted by a neighbour crouching on the decking of her house wearing only an unzipped mac coat.
Cooke accepted his actions that day and said that he didn't know why he stood there with only a mac coat on, or if he did touch his genitals.
He said: "I can't honestly remember. I was in a bad place then and I apologised."
Cooke will be sentenced at a later date.