An eco-entrepreneur who exposed himself to a police officer after being thrown out of an exclusive Soho private members club has been spared prison.
Mattijah Sedlak, 29, was caught half-naked in the kitchen area of Blacks Gentleman’s Club, at the end of a pub crawl through central London with friends.
Staff persuaded him to put his trousers back on and led him outside following the incident on June 11 last year.
However, when the entrepreneur, who launched environmental consultancy ecoLife in 2012, was later sat with a police officer, he undid his trousers and exposed himself again.
At Southwark crown court today, Judge Robbins banned him from Soho for the next six months and imposed a 12-month community order with a night-time curfew until mid-April
“It’s a worrying case in some ways, he behaved completely out of character and he still maintains he was entirely innocent and someone must have spiked his drink,” he said.
“He undoubtedly shows remorse and is apologetic, but how much insight is shown is another matter.”
Sedlak was acquitted at trial of sexual assault but found guilty by the jury of indecent exposure.
Police had been called when Sedlak was discovered half-naked in the kitchens, and he encountered two officers at a bus stop in nearby Bourchier Street after leaving the club.
The businessman became distressed when he realised he had forgotten his bag in the club’s kitchen, and while one officer went to retrieve it, the other stayed with Sedlak.
The PC said Sedlak made lewd comments and asked if the officer was “interested”.
The officer said he told Sedlak to behave, but then felt a hand touch him and looked over to see Sedlak touching himself intimately.
Following his arrest, Sedlak claimed his drink must have been spiked and denied both charges against him.
He had also become aggressive after his arrest, the court heard, grabbing on to a tree to avoid being dragged to the police van.
Polish-born Sedlak moved to the UK five years ago, having already trained as a paramedic, working as a carer and a horse trainer before helping to launch ecoLife.
Sedlak, of Tonbridge, Kent, was acquitted of sexual assault, but convicted of exposure.
He was also ordered to pay £1400 costs on top of his sentence.
