A Roanoke Rapids man was arrested and charged for indecent exposure this morning after a woman Saturday witnessed and took a video of him performing a sex act on himself on the sidewalk near the Roanoke Canal Museum.
The video was sent to a social media page and from there the Roanoke Rapids Police Department was notified, according to Chief Shane Guyant.
The act was recorded around 8 a.m. and police identified the man as 29-year-old Bradley Cole Crowder who Guyant said had been arrested for the same crime in June of last year. That case is still pending in district court and is scheduled for July 3.
Sergeant A. Seward obtained warrants on Crowder and the sergeant, along with officers C. Walker and B. Johnson located him around 10 a.m. on Madison Street.
He remains in the Halifax County Detention Center without the opportunity for bond based on pending court dates and received a $500 bond for the indecent exposure count.
He is scheduled to appear in district court on May 22 for no operator's license and June 5 for shoplifting, according to the state court calendar.
“Thank you to this victim for reporting this,” Guyant said. “ What courage for her to come forward. I cannot imagine how shocked she was to see this despicable behavior happening right in front of her during this time of the morning.”
Guyant said the witness was on the way to work when she observed the act. “She could have easily looked the other way and just kept driving. However, she did the right thing and reported it.”
The police chief said, “I know people do not want to get involved sometimes. It is easy to turn your head and look the other way, but when you do that, you miss your opportunity to stand up and protect your city, your community, and your home. I can tell you incorrigible nasty behavior like this leads to future deviance.”
Said Guyant: “We hope Mr. Crowder can receive some much-needed help. He obviously has issues that go beyond anything that the police department and the criminal justice system can fix. I have no idea what he was thinking for a second time now, but I sincerely hope his family realizes that this problem needs to be seriously addressed.”
