SWANSEA CROWN COURT has sentenced Mathew Reading to ten months in prison following an incident in which he exposed himself and urinated on his victim’s driveway.

The events unfolded just days after Reading attacked the same man in a Fishguard pub. Prosecutor Regan Walters recounted how Reading assaulted the man, who had his arm in a cast, on 27 January. Reading punched the victim, who then fell to the floor, where he was further kicked by an unknown assailant.

Following the attack, Reading was arrested and released on bail while police investigated. However, on the evening of January 31, the victim’s wife and their 12-year-old non-verbal autistic son were at home when their dog began barking. The boy went to the door to investigate and saw Reading exposing himself and urinating on their driveway.

“The defendant was standing with his penis exposed and he was urinating on the drive,” Mr Walters explained to the court. Reading then shouted threats and made obscene gestures towards the house. When the boy’s mother came to the door, Reading directed further abuse at her before attempting to approach the house. The quick-thinking mother shut the door, and Reading was arrested the following morning.

In a statement read by Mr Walters, the boy’s mother expressed her alarm and distress at Reading’s “completely out of order” behaviour. Reading remained silent during police questioning but later admitted to exposure and witness intimidation in the magistrates’ court.

Reading also faced charges of common assault for the pub attack, which he admitted. He will be sentenced for this offence at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on 13 June.

The court learned that Reading, of Maes Y Llan in Dinas Cross, has a significant criminal history, with 22 previous convictions for 30 offences. Defence barrister Caitlin Brazel informed the court that Reading had been in custody since 2 February, equating to an eight-month sentence already served. She attributed his actions to a “foolish and drunkenly motivated decision” rather than sexual intent, citing two family tragedies in 2019 that had sent Reading into a “downward spiral”.

Judge Paul Thomas KC condemned the pub attack as “a particularly cowardly attack” and sentenced Reading to eight months for witness intimidation and a further two months for exposure. Additionally, Reading must register as a sex offender for seven years. The court also issued a two-year restraining order to protect the victim.