ST. GEORGE — A man with a pending forcible sex abuse case was arrested Saturday for allegedly exposing himself to children on multiple occasions.
St. George Police officers responded to a report of lewdness Saturday evening at an apartment complex in the area of 1000 North and 1300 West involving a man identified as 65-year-old Alexander J. Stewart, of St. George, exposing himself to three children, according to the probable cause statement submitted to the Washington County Attorney’s Office in support of Stewart’s arrest.
During a number of interviews, officers were told that Stewart “dropped his pants, and exposed his penis” to two of the children earlier that day. Officers also discovered there were allegedly a number of similar incidents involving Stewart exposing himself to children over the course of nearly two years. Police identified a third child who also witnessed similar incidents involving the defendant, according to the statement.
In one incident recounted in the police statement, two of the children were in the front yard across from Stewart’s house when allegedly he exposed his penis to both children, telling them “don’t tell your parents or else.”
When detectives broached the allegations with Stewart, the defendant started rocking back and forth and repeatedly touching his head, saying “here we go again” several times during the interview, leading officers to believe he was being “deceitful,” according to the statement.
Police say the defendant initially denied ever pulling his pants down or exposing himself to the children, but as the interview continued, he admitted to occasionally taking “a leak” outside of his house in the same area where the alleged incidents took place. He reportedly told officers he preferred to urinate outside over using the restroom and denied ever telling the children not to tell their parents.
With the alleged admission of urinating outside where children and other individuals could clearly see him and the information gleaned from interviews with the children, police stated that they believe Stewart to be a “danger to the public,” and he was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane. He was booked on three class A misdemeanor counts of lewdness involving a child under 14 years of age. He remains in custody at the time of this report.
Pending sex abuse case
Late last year, Stewart was arrested and charged with second-degree felony forcible sex abuse after officers responded to a reported sex offense involving a home health provider who said she was assaulted by the defendant while caring for a patient at Stewart’s residence.
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of Stewart’s arrest Dec. 28, 2018, the defendant asked the home health worker for a hug as she was leaving, during which he simultaneously reached up the woman’s shirt and grabbed her breasts with one hand, while the other hand reached down to the woman’s genitals. The woman froze before she was able to “get away from Stewart,” police wrote in the statement, as Stewart pleaded with her, “pretty please, I never get any.”
When contacted by police, the defendant allegedly made an unprompted statement that he believed police were there “to speak with him because a girl complained, and he took it too far.”
In the statement, police say Stewart admitted to grabbing the woman’s breasts but denied touching her genitals, telling officers she “pushed his hand away twice” and and that he had “tried to see how far he could go” with her.
Stewart is scheduled to appear in Fifth District Court for an arraignment/resolution hearing on the case June 4.
This report is based on statements from police and may not contain the full scope of findings. 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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