Police looking into multiple reports of indecent exposure

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – River Park West Neighborhood was plagued again last night by an unknown man who exposes himself to unsuspecting residents.

This is not the first time this has happened in this neighborhood—for the past three years residents have been reporting a black male who will come to their front door and will flash or more recently violate space through more explicit sexual acts.

I spoke with the resident, who did not want to be on camera at this time, who called the police last night around midnight to report a man exposing himself on her front porch and conducting explicit sexual behavior.

The resident told ABC57 that this was not the first time that they had been targeted. In the past year dating back to October of 2018 she has been targeted 6 times: 3 times in October, once in December, than again twice this August dating just 10 days apart.

The resident says that the male with come to her door, rattle the handle among other things to get her attention and then will violate her space.

Residents of the River Park West Neighborhood Watch have been diligent to keep the neighborhood updated with incidents like this and other suspicious neighborhood activity. However long term residents Thomas Spencer and Pam Claeys tell ABC57 that their quaint neighborhood has been stable for the past 30 plus years they have lived here. They are proud to be a part of a neighborhood that willingly communicates with one another and cares about their personal homes and public spaces.

However, when incidents like this occur, especially so intermittently neighbors realize it is hard to expect an arrest.

All of the neighbors I have spoken with expressed that the local IUSB and South Bend Police patrolmen have been extremely helpful throughout the years, upping patrols and even attending Neighborhood Watch meetings to be best informed.

Claeys tells me that, “They want to catch the man just as much as the rest of us.”

And the resident who most recently was affected says that, “The SBPD response to each of these incidents has been stellar, and the police are taking this investigation very seriously. I could not ask for a more professional, thorough, and diligent response from the South Bend Police Department on this matter. They have my upmost appreciation.”