A convicted sexual offender who was on probation for public indecency is in trouble again.
Joseph Bowman, 29, of Lancaster is slated to go to trial April 17 for one count of public indecency after pleading not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday.
He is accused of exposing himself to a group of teachers and students Tuesday as they were leaving Aha! A Hands-on Adventure, A Children's Museum in Lancaster.
Bowman is in Fairfield County Jail on a $5,000 recognizance bond. This is the second time in a year that Bowman has been arrested on charges of public indecency.
Three teachers from Forest Rose School in Lancaster said Bowman exposed himself while standing in the second floor window of his home Tuesday, according to the Lancaster Police report.
Bowman's home and the children's museum are both located in the 300 block of South Broad Street in Lancaster.
Lancaster Police Lt. Greg Seesholtz was one of several police officials to arrive on scene after the call came in around 11:37 a.m. Tuesday. He said he's unsure if any of the children witnessed Bowman's alleged actions.
"They were loading the kids onto the buses and left the scene quickly," Seesholtz said. "We had to bring one of the witnesses back (on scene) later to identify the suspect."
Police officials remained on scene for almost two hours Tuesday before Bowman exited his home at 1:03 p.m. and was arrested, according to the report. Police officials confiscated several DVDs and photos of nude women from the home.
Kimberly Murray, executive director of the children's museum, declined to comment about Tuesday's incident.
Forest Rose Superintendent John Pekar said the students were at the museum Tuesday for a field trip.
"From what I understand, the teachers did a good job taking care of the situation and making sure the police were notified," Pekar said. "I'm sure if some of the students did see what happened, they didn't know exactly what was going on, but still, that's something they don't need to see."
Bowman is one of two convicted sex offenders to live in the 300 block of South Broad Street. He was convicted of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, according to the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office.
Bowman already was on probation Tuesday for similar charges stemming from an arrest on March 19, 2008.
He was arrested on a public indecency charge after five witnesses reported seeing him expose himself in the window of another home on South Broad Street.
One witness reported that pornography playing on the television also was visible through the window, according to the Lancaster Police report.
.........Sarah Tofte
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