Man accused of exposing himself in front of kids at Mascoutah park

The 25-year-old man who exposed himself at a park on Saturday afternoon did so in front of a group of people that included children, police said.

Mascoutah Police received several calls at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday about a man harassing children at Scheve Park, Det. Sgt. Jared Lambert said.

Police arrested Jacob R. Gruber, 25, of Mascoutah on a misdemeanor charge of public indecency.

“People were up there for an event and this subject shows up (and ...) knowingly exposed his sex organ in a lewd manner with the intent to arouse his sexual desires,” Lambert said.

Gruber was “uncooperative” at the Mascoutah Police Department, Lambert said, and damaged an outlet cover and a sign. He was charged with criminal damage to government property, a felony.

The suspect appeared to be intoxicated and Mascoutah Police were unable to process him for the charges. They took the suspect to St. Clair County Jail, where he was held on $30,000 bail and has since been released.

This story was originally published August 14, 2018 at 3:27 PM.