Dartmouth man accused of pulling pants down, masturbating in local park

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

According to police, on Saturday, 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 1:30 p.m., detectives observed two males, one later identified as 67-year-old Joao Ladino of Dartmouth entering the walking trails. These males had arrived at the park in separate vehicles and were observed making eye contact with each other before entering the trails together.

Shortly after, two CIU detectives entered the same trail and observed Ladino and the second male standing near each other. The detectives approached the males, at which time Ladino made direct eye contact with a detective and then pulled down his pants fully exposing himself and then began to masturbate.

The detectives immediately identified themselves as Dartmouth Police Officers and Ladino was detained. Ladino became uncooperative with officers on scene and was subsequently transported to a local hospital for evaluation.

Dartmouth Police Chief Brian P. Levesque credited his detectives for their strong work, stating “the recent reports of lewd activities in our public park are deeply concerning and unacceptable. Our parks are cherished spaces where families and children come to relax and enjoy the outdoors. Let me be clear, this type of behavior will not be tolerated, and we will continue to investigate these complaints. The Dartmouth Police Department is committed to ensuring our parks remain safe and welcoming for everyone in our community.”

Ladino was charged with open and gross lewdness and lewd, wanton, and lascivious conduct.