"This type of illegal behavior will not be tolerated."- Polk County Sheriff Bob Wolfe
(DALLAS, Ore.) - The Polk County Sheriff's Office conducted an undercover operation over the weekend, Saturday, May 12th and Sunday, May 13th, to address complaints of illegal sexual activity within the park.
Most of the complaints seemed to center around public indecency and Polk County Sheriff's Office Spokesman Dean
Bender says it also involved men handling and displaying their genitals in the open and public masturbation.
He says the operation included the use of Detectives, Patrol Deputies and Reserve Deputies.
Sheriff Bob Wolfe says he was very pleased with the outcome of the undercover operation and hopes the message gets out, "that this type of illegal behavior will not be tolerated."
Bender says the two day operation resulted in eight individuals being arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail. The names and charges are as follows:
53-year old Russel Hathaway Resident of Salem, Oregon
Hathaway faces one count of Public Indeceny
62-year old Ronald StewartResident of Salem
Stewart faces one count of First Degree Sex Abuse and one count of Harrassment
37-year old Darin BrinkResident of SalemBrink is charged with one count of Public Indecency
56-year old Robert KansmanResident of SalemKansam is charged with one count of Public Indecency
53-year old Ronald BridgeResident of PortlandBridge faces one count of Public Indecency
57-year old Harry NelsonResident of SalemNelson faces one charge of Public Indecency
46-year old John BackusResident of MonmouthBackus us chaged with one cout of Public Indecency
46-year old Steven M. AdamsResident of SalemAdams faces one count of Public Indecency
Polk County officials say they hope this sends a message to people who consider committing similar acts at Holman Park or other public areas in Polk County as well as the rest of Oregon. Locals say Holman Park is not known or regarded as a nudist area. People who live in the area say they have had increasing concerns over the behavior of men committing indecent acts while visiting the park.
Undercover Operation in Polk County's Holman Wayside Park Leads to Several Arrests for Public IndecencySalem-News.com