A young woman lifted her dress and exposed herself to magistrates while appearing in court on a drunk and disorderly charge. Jessica Richards flashed the courtroom as her case was about to get underway yesterday.
The 22-year-old appeared at Leicester Magistrate’s Court wearing a short black dress and no underwear and was disruptive during the hearing. She was initially told off by the court clerk for throwing a tissue she had wiped her nose with on the floor.
The gesture was observed by the court usher, a probation officer and a reporter but was not seen by the magistrates themselves who carried on with the case and were only informed what had happened after it had finished and Richards had left the room.
As the case started, Richards, who was unrepresented in court, admitted being drunk and disorderly in Hinckley Road, Leicester, at 7pm on April 15.
Sally Bedford, prosecuting, said a call was made to the police because the defendant, dressed all in black, was seen running in and out of traffic. She said police found Richards, of no fixed abode, and arrested her adding: ‘She was screaming and shouting uncontrollably. She wouldn’t listen to officers.’
Richards did not say anything in her own defence but did say: ‘I don’t feel well at all. ‘I don’t want to be here.’ Magistrates fined her £40, taking into account her early guilty plea and ordered her to pay £20 costs.
Richards, who was unsteady on her feet, shouted: ‘What victim? What victim?’ when she was also ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge. After the case she visited the toilets where she changed into a pair of jeans before leaving the court building.
