Gainesville Police said they may have caught the man responsible for exposing himself to a dozen women since December.
At about 8 p.m. Monday, officers responded to a man who reportedly touched himself in front of several women near Sorority Row, GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias wrote in an email.
“You guys sure look nice tonight,” the man said, according to the email.
The women, who are UF students, told police the man appeared to masturbate with his shorts on, Tobias wrote.
The incident occurred in the parking lot of Royale Palms apartments. As the women left, the suspect did as well, according to the email.
A few hours later, at 12 a.m., police responded to the bar Fat Daddy’s in Midtown, where police said a man exposed himself to another group of women, Tobias said.
Police contacted Willie Strawder, 29, who was previously banned from the bar last year, Tobias said. He matched the description given to police earlier that night.
Strawder was only arrested for trespassing because police cannot charge for sexual exposure of organs unless they witness the crime, Tobias said.
Authorities took Strawder to the Alachua County Jail where, as of press time, he remains in lieu of a $2,000 bond.
The next step for police, he said, would be to present women from prior exposures with a photo lineup and see if they identify Strawder.
If the victims identify Strawder as the culprit, GPD could file a sworn complaint with the State Attorney’s Office, which would then determine if Strawder could be charged.
Contact Martin Vassolo at mvassolo@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @martindvassolo.
