ANDERSON, Ind. — An Anderson man was arrested on Sunday after he was reportedly caught pleasuring himself in the bushes while watching a group of children play wiffleball in a neighborhood.
According to court documents, filed on Tuesday from the Anderson Police Department, 28-year-old Jose Maria Ponce Esquivel has been preliminarily charged with one count of child solicitation, a Level 5 felony, and one count of performing sexual conduct in the presence of a minor, a Level 6 felony.
On Sunday evening, officers were dispatched to a home in Anderson after a woman told police a man was masturbating outside in some bushes while watching a group of children play.
In an interview with the woman who called the police, she said she saw a man, later identified as Ponce Esquivel, reportedly lying in the bushes with his pants at his ankles when she went outside after she was told about the incident by a child.
A witness told police she was playing wiffleball outside when she reportedly saw Ponce Esquivel pull up to the area in his car. The witness said he reportedly sat inside his car for a few minutes, watching the children play before he drove down to the end of the road.
“(The witness) stated as (Ponce Esquivel) was driving by, she saw his hand moving up and down, like he was masturbating,” the documents said. “(The witness) stated that she could not be sure, but believed that’s what he was doing.”
The witness told police he then parked down the road for a while before coming back. Ponce Esquivel then reportedly got out of the car and was walking around by the street and watching the kids playing.
A victim in the incident told police that as she was playing wiffleball, she turned toward the bushes while swinging the bat and saw Ponce Esquivel lying by the bushes. The victim told police that Ponce Esquivel was reportedly pleasuring himself.
The victim told police Ponce Esquivel smiled at her while performing the act and, at one point, pointed at her and motioned for her to come over to him.
After Ponce Esquivel was arrested, he was read his Miranda Rights and told police he did not want to talk at that time.
