St John (Mushroom) Man Arrested After Exposing Himself In Front Of Infant And Shoppers
On Tuesday, August 16, 2022, St. John Police received a complaint of a man masturbating while in a vehicle that was parked in the public parking lot at Target in the 9800 Block of Wicker Avenue.
The witness confronted the male, cell phone camera in hand, and recorded the confrontation through the open passenger side window of the male’s vehicle.
The video was also provided to police, and clearly shows a white male, nude from the waist down, with his hand on his fully exposed genitals. The picture was later on social media with a mushroom covering the exposed genitals.
During the very brief confrontation, the male drove away and the witness continued recording, capturing a clear image of the vehicle and license plate of the male.
Upon investigation, St. John Police detectives were able to review Target security camera footage which showed the same male shopping in the store with an infant child who was seated in the shopping cart. After shopping, the male put his purchased items and the infant into his vehicle. The person and vehicle observed in the store video were the same person and vehicle shown in the video provided by the witness.
Detectives were able to verify the identity of the male and on August 17, St. John Police located the male at his residence in the 11000 block of Summerlin St. in St. John, where he was taken into custody without incident. The suspect was then taken to the Lake County Jail on probable cause. Thomas W. Harms, age 34 of St. John was charged with Performing Sexual Conduct in the Presence of a Minor (Level 6 Felony) and Public Nudity (Class B Misdemeanor).
