TUSTIN : Arrests Increase at Park Restroom

More than 20 men have been arrested on suspicion of lewd conduct and indecent exposure in a park restroom, which has been the target of neighborhood complaints for more than a decade, police announced Tuesday.

Undercover police officers targeted the small, brick men’s restroom at Peppertree Park for a week, beginning April 7, after an increase in complaints, Sgt. Mike Shanahan said.

Most of the men were not Tustin residents and were employed, Shanahan said. They ranged in age from 25 to 73, and many were married or had girlfriends, he said.

Some of the men carried graphic pornography and sexual toys at the time of their arrest, Shanahan said.

The men were photographed, fingerprinted and then given misdemeanor citations to appear in court before being released, police said.

Residents and people who frequent the grassy park at 1st and B streets have complained on and off for at least 15 years about incidents in the park’s restroom, Shanahan said. Police made several arrests per month.

Shanahan said police now plan to take a more active role in combatting the recurring problem.

“Let’s go out and arrest as many as we possibly can but . . . let’s see if we can make some substantial changes” to the park and the bathroom area, Shanahan said.

Some residents said two possible solutions would be to lock the restrooms at night or remove them entirely.

One man who said he has lived across the street from the bathrooms for more than a decade looked out his window Tuesday and described the two types of men he regularly sees.

Some men, he said, “walk up slowly, always looking around (for cops or partners). That fits the profile. They will stare at you, and if you stare back they’ll proposition you. . . . You can tell who really needs to go to the bathroom. They walk right up without looking around.”