Parents Disturbed by Naked Man in Russellville Neighborhood

The old saying goes that good fences make good neighbors, and it seems any fence at all might help Jenni Bowden, who believes her children have seen more of their elderly neighbor than they should.

"They come home screaming. It scares the crap out of them honestly," she said.

According to Bowden, and several of her neighbors on Greenwich Street in Russellville, the man who lives down the block has a disturbing habit.

"He'll come out and feed his dogs in the nude," she said. "At eight and 10 years old, that isn't something they [the kids] need to be seeing. He's known as the "Naked Man" around here."

"At first, it started out that he would stand in the window naked," said Greenwich renter LaJah Mitchell. "Then, one day it was at 1:45 in the afternoon. Broad daylight, and he was feeding his dogs, baring it all to the world."

Russellville Police have received several complaints about the situation. Church members who attend across the street and perturbed parents among those offended.

"With kids living in the area it's very concerning," said Russellville Police Officer Drew Latch. " Really, any type of area is concerning for us with this situation. It causes disorder in the area, and it definitely causes alarm."

In response to the concerned callers, Latch said police put unmarked patrol cars in the area, with detectives watching to try to catch the man in the act, but they weren't successful.

Officers were able to speak with the man on one occasion, where they explained the situation and cautioned him about the behavior.

And according to Latch, the way the law is written, officers must see the actual activity to cite or arrest a person accused of that behavior.

"It's just a matter of trying to get the right time to where we can actually witness this happening. It's just the way the legislation states we actually have to witness this one in order to cite or arrest him," Latch said.

Latch added that based on the descriptions provided in the calls, the offense would most likely fall under disorderly conduct, because an indecent exposure charge requires indications of arousal or sexual gratification from the act.

Bowden is scared the situation could escalate, saying she has already noticed her neighbor changing his bare all behavior and not for the better.

"He's progressed by coming out of his front door out into the yard," she said. "I've spoken with the pastor at the church and he's noticed that, too. He said he's noticed it getting more frequent and more outside. All it takes is little steps for it to progress. It might be in a few years or a few days. That's the scary part."

"We're always concerned about criminal behavior escalating," Latch said. "Right now, the reports we've gotten have been pretty consistent, but obviously we are concerned and are keeping an eye on the situation. That's always a concern, that a crime could escalate."

KARK attempted to speak with the man down the street, but he stopped us at the door.

"From what we understand there have been concerns about you walking around outside naked," we said to him.

"Nope. No way," he said. "Nope, goodybe."

Bowden is not sure if her neighbor is aware that his immodesty is improper.

"I don't know if he's able to tell right from wrong," she said. "But if he can't grasp that then I'd like to see him have some help or full time care. Something."

Bowden noted that the man does have visitors who stay for a week or two at a time, and that over the past 10 months visits have coincided with fewer sightings of the man's full frontal displays.

"I don't know if they watch him and keep him from coming outside or if he just knows that he can't do that while they're there to see it," she said.

Since officers have had a chance to interact with the man, we asked Latch his impression of the man's understanding.

"Based on what officers who have spoken with him have told me, it seems the man knows what he is doing, but it's hard to tell without talking to him each time," Latch said.

According to Latch, police called adult protective services and reported the incidents. However, Latch wasn't sure what came of that call.

"We're doing whatever we can to try to catch him. It's something the police department wants to put an end to," Latch said. "We encourage people to call us immediately any time it happens. They don't need to assume that it's just this guy's behavior. We need to know when it's going on."

Bowden said she's just fine with giving police a call, for her it's about keeping her kids safe --- something she isn't willing to risk.

Those who live in the area and witness the behavior can take pictures as proof of the occurrence. While the law prevents police from making an arrest without seeing the activity, citizens can pursue charges on their own by contacting the city attorney.