ST. GEORGE – A St. George man was arrested over the weekend after allegedly committing a lewd act in front of two teen girls near a movie theater.
The girls, ages 14 and 16, were outside the Megaplex Sunset Stadium movie theater on Bluff Street Saturday waiting for a parent to pick them up when Steward Jones, 28, walked toward them and started asking about movies playing in the theater, St. George Police officer Lona Trombley said.
While the girls were trying to be polite and answer some of the questions, Trombley said, Jones began to rub his chest is a seemingly inappropriate manner. The girls began to back away from Jones at this point, and he stepped toward them.
At some point Steward put a hand down his pants and appeared to be touching himself.
The girls ran back into the theater and told a theater employee about Jones as they hid from him. That employee contacted police.
As for Jones, he went into the men’s restroom and was inside for an extended period of time before leaving, Trombley said.
Police officers eventually made contact with Jones on a bus in town and he was determined to be intoxicated.
Jones was taken into custody and charged with misdemeanor offenses for intoxication and lewdness.
He has since been released on bail, according to court records.
This isn’t Jones’ first lewdness offense, Trombley said, adding that police responded to a similar incident involving Jones in October.
Jones pleaded not guilty during an arraignment hearing in Washington County Justice Court and is set to appear in court again in mid-April.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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