HAMILTON — Sisters, ages 9 and 18, took the stand Thursday morning, June 25, to point out a man they say exposed himself to them and other young friends on an outing in New Miami earlier this month.
Arnold L. Helms, 28, is charged with three counts of indecent exposure, a felony because of the age of the victims and his previous convictions for public indecency in Hamilton County.
Helms was arrested June 12 after Butler County Sheriff’s deputies received complaints of a man riding a bike in the village and exposing himself to children.
Deputy Bill Brown received information on the evening of June 12 that a man matching the description of the suspect was in the area of Fox Avenue. When he pulled up next to Helms, he observed that Helms’ zipper was down and he was exposing himself, Brown said.
Helms told the deputy he had visited a gas station restroom and forgot to zip up.
During the preliminary hearing in Hamilton Municipal Court, the 9-year-old had to stand up and lean over to see over the podium, but she pointed out Helms as the man who exposed himself to her.
The 18-year-old said she was walking with her sister and other juveniles to a New Miami store when Helms asked her to expose her chest.
“I said ‘no thanks,’ ” she said.
When she said Helms began exposing himself, the teen said she told the young children to turn around and they all ran away.
According to the incident report, Helms lived in New Miami with family members fewer than three weeks before his arrest. He was convicted in Harrison last summer on four counts of public indecency.
Harrison police Detective Norb Coopman said the victims there were also juveniles, ages 7, 11, 13 and 16.
Hamilton Municipal Court Judge Dan Gattermeyer found sufficient evidence to bind Helms’ case over to a Butler County grand jury for consideration after the hearing.
If convicted of the fifth-degree felony, Helms faces up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
But he would not be classified as a sexual offender that would require registration with the sheriff’s office where he resides.
“That is correct,” said Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer McElfresh, who prosecutes juvenile cases. The law changed in January 2008 with the Adam Walsh Act, but felony public indecency cases were not included in the charges requiring classification.
She said it is a concern, because in many cases like these offenders will escalate in their crimes.
“We can hope penalties for the crime will protect the public,” McElfresh said.
Deputy Michael Jacobs, who registers sex offenders at the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, said the charge is not included, likely because public indecency is a charge also applied to someone urinating in public and consenting adults caught “parking.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2168 or lpack@coxohio.com.
