JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man was arrested Monday after police said he exposed himself to preschool children at a park in Jacksonville's Murray Hill neighborhood.
Travis Alexander, 33, is charged with indecent exposure and lewd exhibition.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, parents saw Alexander walking around Murray Hill Four Corners Park just before 10 a.m., and that's when the parents made the children huddle up together on the ground and formed a circle around them.
Alexander then began masturbating in front of the children, the arrest report states.
Officers were called and took Alexander into custody as police said he tried to leave the park. He was booked into the Duval County jail and ordered held on $70,000 bond.
"I hadn't ever observed anything like that my whole life," said John Sloan, who lives in Murray Hill. "Coming up here on a regular basis, I've never seen anything like that in this neighborhood."
One woman who was at the park with her children at the time of the incident spoke off-camera with News4Jax on Tuesday. She still seemed shaken about what she saw.
Viviana Viera, who also lives in the neighborhood, applauded the parents who tried to shield the children.
"That is a very good action, I think. I guess it was quickly what they could do in the moment," she said. "I think it's good that they did that."
According to court records, Alexander is a transient who has been in and out of jail dozens of times going back to 2011. Most of the arrests have been on trespassing charges, but there was one arrest on child molestation, another on charges of indecent exposure, drugs, prowling and resisting police.
Court records show he was previously ruled not competent for prosecution, Baker Acted 33 times and released back onto the street. The Baker Acts include the child molestation and prior indecent exposure arrests.
"I don't know why he is loose. He doesn't need to be out in the public doing something like that," Sloan said.
Others who live in the Murray Hill were concerned to learn about Alexander's past.
"It looks to me like somebody should be able to take care of it," William Deen said. "The city or the state or the government."
Jacksonville attorney Randy Reep said it appears Alexander's case could be destined for Jimmy Ryce Act, which permits involuntary civil commitment. Reep said that would be determined by a judge and medical professionals, if they are convinced Alexander is a danger to the community.