10-08-2025
"Reckless" care worker caught on video masturbating in car after client visit
A national shortage of ADHD medication after Brexit and Covid was blamed for an Isle of Wight care worker's 'reckless' decision to masturbate in his car after a client visit.
James Gilbert, of Mill Hill Road in Cowes, attended the IW Magistrates' Court for sentencing on Friday, August 8.
The 25-year-old admitted committing an act of outraging public decency.
The court heard that Gilbert had been working in his role as a care worker on November 25 last year, and, following a visit to a client's home, he was seen masturbating in his car on Wellington Road in Carisbrooke.
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Prosecutor Rhys Evans said the act was filmed by a resident on the street, with the footage sent to his agency manager before being passed on to police.
At a previous hearing, the court heard that Gilbert told officers during an interview that he was 'letting off steam' and considered his car a private space.
Oscar Vincent, defending, said the person who had filmed the act had made a 'concerted' effort to video his client, implying that the offence had not been committed in full public view.
The court heard that, following Brexit and the Covid pandemic, Gilbert's ADHD medication had been changed to an alternative due to a national shortage.
Reading a letter from a doctor, Mr Vincent told magistrates the medication change caused 'unusual behaviour' of which Gilbert had no control.
Magistrates instead described it as 'reckless behaviour,' and handed Gilbert a nine-month community order, which includes eight rehabilitation days.
He must also pay a £120 fine, £114 surcharge and £85 in court costs.
