Samuel Houston: Former Portstewart postmaster admits lewd acts
A former postmaster has been ordered to sign the police sex offenders register after he admitted a number of sex offences, including outraging public decency.
As Samuel Houston stood in the dock of Antrim Crown Court on Friday, defence counsel Grant Powles asked for the 67-year-old to be re-arraigned on five of the seven charges against him.
On a bill of indictment covering a time span from February 29, 2024 to January 26, 2025, Houston, of Cloughwater Road, Clough, entered guilty pleas to two counts of sending an unwanted sexual image, two counts of exposing his genitals and one count of outraging public decency.
The particulars of the indecency offence stipulates that Houston pressed his “naked buttocks” against the window of Portstewart Post Office which was “visible to members of the public”.
Following the admissions, prosecuting counsel Daniel McCarthy asked for the two remaining charges, relating to counts of harassment and outraging public decency, to be marked as left on the books.
The background to the case was not opened on Friday, but previous courts heard how the police received a report from the victim that Houston had made “unwanted comments towards him regarding bending over and exposing himself” and about the man “bending over to stack shelves”.
The court heard the male worked in a local retail outlet and regularly did the banking for the shop, and when he went to the Post Office to make lodgements, that was when Houston allegedly made the comments.
It was during those visits when Houston “had his phone in full view showing an image of a male penis wearing a c*** ring”.
The court heard: “This occurred most weeks he went to the Post Office and on March 23, 2024, he captured a picture of the phone, with the image, from the customer side of the counter.”
The behaviour continued until the male raised the issue with his manager. The Post Office banking visits stopped but a police constable told the court there were other incidents.
The victim routinely took his breaks in his car, often parked across the street from the Post Office and the court heard how Houston would wave over at him before disappearing.
When he reappeared, said the officer, Houston was “completely naked and showing his buttocks towards the window, in full view of the witness and any passing members of the public.”
"This happened on multiple occasions throughout the year until the witness captured a picture on his phone on January 17,” the constable told the court, adding that the witness believed “this was targeted at him and this was unwanted sexual advances”.
Houston was arrested and when his home was searched under a warrant, officers “seized and exhibited a silver c*** ring, similar to the one in the image seen by the witness.”
During formal interviews, Houston “made partial admissions” but claimed there was no intent as this all happened “as a coincidence”.
Following Houston’s admissions on Friday, defence counsel Grant Powles asked for the case to be adjourned to allow time for the Probation Board to compile a pre-sentence report.
Judge Peter Irvine KC agreed, and releasing Houston on continuing bail, he adjourned the case to January, warning the defendant that given the pleas he would now be subject to the police sex offenders register.