By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com
A man accused of exposing himself to students at an Arkadelphia college was arrested on misdemeanor charges Thursday evening, Oct. 31, 2024.
William Bradley McDowell, of Camden, was booked in the Clark County Jail on charges of indecent exposure. Authorities say that McDowell, 61, showed his genitalia to students at Ouachita Baptist University’s Riley-Hickingbotham Library.
According to a probable cause affidavit, OBU’s police department received a complaint on Oct. 21. Officers there reportedly responded once the complaint was made and spoke with two female witnesses, then conducted a fruitless search of the suspect, described as a white male about 6-foot tall and weighing 220 pounds.
The young ladies said they were studying upstairs at a table when the perpetrator “walked up, faced away from them and pulled down his pants exposing his backside, then walked away from them and quickly turned around exposing his penis and asked them for a piece of paper.”
The students reported the incident immediately. An OBU officer reviewed video footage of a male closely matching the given description about an hour and a half prior to the reported incident.
McDowell has been known to expose himself on other college campuses in Arkansas. He was arrested by Southern Arkansas University Police Department in 2020 for a similar offense that occurred at the Magnolia campus. OBU Officer Scott Clark, a former Arkansas State Police investigator, commenced a search of online court records, discovering that McDowell had been arrested in Clark County in 2014 for showing his genitalia to female patrons at River Rats in Caddo Valley. Initially arrested for indecent exposure, McDowell later pleaded guilty to the charge of disorderly conduct.
Correspondence between OBU and SAU police included photos of the suspect arrested at SAU, and that suspect matched the description of the OBU perpetrator. McDowell served six months of a one-year jail sentence for the SAU offense.
On Oct. 28, the two OBU students were able to pick McDowell from a photo lineup, according to the affidavit.
McDowell was arrested at his residence in Camden.
McDowell appeared Friday morning before Clark County District Court Judge Randy Hill on Friday morning. A not guilty plea was entered, with a trial date set for January 2025.
Conditions for his release, proposed by Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Turner, include an electronic monitor. Barred from Clark County until his next court appearance, he’s also prohibited from being at OBU or Henderson State University, or at any Clark County public school.
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