Dartmouth Police say they caught 61-year-old man exposing himself at park

DARTMOUTH, MA- A local man is facing some disturbing charges.

According to police, on Wednesday, detectives assigned to the Dartmouth Police Department Community Impact Unit were conducting an undercover investigation into suspicious activity occurring at Harry Reynold’s Park located at 443 Old Fall River Road in Dartmouth.

The Dartmouth Police Department has received numerous complaints regarding “acts of lewdness” and individuals exposing themselves in the walking trails located at Harry Reynold’s Park. Throughout the investigation, detectives assigned to the CIU learned that individuals use social apps to facilitate meetings to engage in sexual activity at a pre-determined location. One location commonly used by these individuals was found to be Harry Reynold’s Park.

At approximately 2:15 p.m., detectives observed a male, later identified as 61-year-old Francisco Tavares of New Bedford entering the walking trails. Shortly after, two CIU detectives entered the same trail, at which time Tavares approached them. Tavares engaged the detectives in a brief conversation and then pulled down his pants fully exposing himself.

The detectives immediately identified themselves as Dartmouth Police Officers and Tavares was detained. Tavares was released at the scene and will be summoned to New Bedford District Court, charged with open and gross lewdness and lewd, wanton, and lascivious conduct.

Dartmouth Police Chief Brian P. Levesque credited his detectives for their strong work, stating “this type of activity continues to be a problem at Harry Reynold’s Park. We will continue to work diligently to combat these issues and keep our parks safe and welcoming for everyone in our community.”