Man arrested for exposing himself to family at park

A 57-year-old Marathon man was arrested Friday evening for exposing himself to two women and a 4-year-old child at Veterans Memorial Park.

Julio Roberto Melendez Chavez was charged with lewd and lascivious offenses in the presence of someone under the age of 16 and disorderly conduct.

The victims said they were sunbathing with their family at approximately 4:13 p.m. when they noticed a man, later identified as Melendez Chavez, sitting abnormally close to them given the park was nearly empty. The two female sunbathers said they turned and saw the suspect masturbating. They grabbed the child and covered its eyes. The suspect then began walking around and taking pictures with his phone.

A witness at the part then took pictures of the suspect and the pickup truck he left the park driving. Deputies Amie Szymanski and Frank Westerband stopped a truck matching the description provided driving northbound in Marathon. Sgt. Joel Slough and Deputy Ty Torres assisted in the investigation.

Both victims identified Melendez Chavez as the suspect. The photos of the suspect’s truck also matched the photos taken by the witness.

Melendez Chavez was taken to jail.

[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]