CNB Crime: 12 Men Charged with Lewdness-Related Offenses in the Wolfe Neck Parking Area
Thursday, July 30, 2015
LEWES DELAWARE (July 28, 2015) – DNREC Division of Parks & Recreation Natural Resources Police have arrested 12 men this month and charged them with lewdness-related offenses in the Wolfe Neck parking area near an intersection with the Junction & Breakwater Trail.
The men were arrested on an assortment of charges, ranging from offensive touching; criminal solicitation; lewdness and indecent exposure; and loitering to engage in or solicit sex. Nine of the arrested men were from Delaware; two were from New York and another from Pennsylvania. Their ages ranged from 49 to 82 years old.
DNREC has received many complaints from the public about this type of activity at the Wolfe Neck location, and has deployed incremental enforcement tactics to rid the area of it, including widespread posting of “No Loitering” signs and increased patrol activity prior to this latest enforcement action. DNREC’s continuing campaign to event public lewdness has made use of both uniformed and plainclothes officers and will continue to do so.
All the men arrested were released on a criminal summons with pending court appearances at Justice of the Peace Court 2 or the Court of Common Pleas. They face punishment ranging from a year in jail and fines up to $2,300 for Class A misdemeanor; of up to six months in jail and fine of $1,150 for Class B misdemeanor; up to 30 days in jail and a $575 fine for unclassified misdemeanor, and up to one-year probation and a $345 fine for a violation.
“This operation is a response to a serious and longstanding problem with lewd and indecent public behavior at Wolfe Neck,” said Parks & Recreation Natural Resources Police Chief Wayne Kline. “Such behavior will not be tolerated in a public area within a Delaware State Park. Every arrest that we’ve made and may make as this enforcement operation continues will reiterate that we are committed to eliminating this problem in a public area.”
press release