Joseph Mafe 53

Description

A flasher who swung his 'large' penis at women from his South London balcony claimed it was 'impossible' for a witness to hear it slapping his belly, a court heard. Joseph Mafe, 53, of Empire Square South, Bermondsey, was jailed for 10 months at Inner London Crown Court on Wednesday, March 6, after admitting two counts of exposure and breaching a suspended sentence, with the judge delivering a scathing rebuke over his repeated offending.

The drug addict was spared jail at Snaresbrook Crown Court in 2022 for multiple flashing incidents, but found himself in breach of the 23-week suspended term last autumn when he relapsed and went on a two-day 'chemsex' bender, combining alcohol with crystal meth and GBL - substances commonly used at drug-fuelled orgies.

The court heard Mafe paraded his member from his balcony on September 16, shouting 'Oi' and 'Hello' at any woman who walked by until they had the misfortune of looking up. "When they looked up he would put his hands behind his head and thrust forward until his penis touched his stomach. She described a large penis," said prosecutor Mark Gadsden.

With Mafe shouting 'yeah yeah yeah' and thrusting his organ at women and children, a witness threatened to call 999. When she later found naked Mafe still waving his penis she called the police. Mafe was arrested, charged, and pleaded guilty in the magistrates' court, then was committed to Inner London Crown Court for sentence on February 11 this year.

But on the day of the hearing, Mafe was arrested again for exactly the same behaviour. A witness heard someone saying 'Hey hey' and saw him dancing around on his balcony in a dressing gown shouting 'Yeah baby, it feels so good'. He then pulled off his gown to reveal his penis, with another cry of 'Yeah yeah it feels so good'.

"I could see his penis. I could hear his penis slapping against the rest of his body," the witness told police. When Mr Gadsden read this part of her statement to the court, Mafe shouted 'That's impossible, that's absolutely impossible'. His protests were rejected by Judge Darren Reed who allowed Mr Gadsden to continue.

After witnessing the initial naked dance, Mafe then exposed himself five more times, the court heard. "I found it quite distressing and it says more about what this incident may lead to. A lot of young girls may walk past this address. I worry they may see it," the witness added.

Defence counsel Danielle Buckett said her client's paranoid schizophrenia and drug use, combined with a lack of support by the probation service, had left him suicidal, as she called for another suspended sentence. "He said it was a cry for help and he was struggling at the time... He had been left unsupported for some months," Ms Buckett said.

Mafe addressed Judge Reed directly, telling him about alleged blackmail attempts on him, devices planted in his home, and death threats over the phone. He also claimed he had only been seen four times by South London and Maudsley NHS mental health team in 15 months, and claimed he had not seen his drug support worker for eight months.

But Judge Reed took little pity on Mafe's claims, and told him the offences were 'not caused by your previous mental health condition, but by recklessly taking drugs'.

"You told probation you had no recollection of what you had done because you had been binging on crystal meth, GBL, and alcohol for two days," Judge Reed snapped. "You detail how others have let you down but take absolutely no responsibility for your own offending. You are not a young man - you are 53 years old, with a history of these offences... It's clear to me you simply don't care about the effect your behaviour has on others, or appreciate it, and are taking no steps to stop it."

Mafe's suspended sentence was activated to run for 14 weeks consecutive to a 26-week sentence for the other two offences. It means he will serve a total sentence of 40 weeks. Mafe is also entered onto the sex offenders register for 10 years.