When a woman took her daughter and her friends to Marathon Beach Saturday for an afternoon of swimming she didn't expect to find a man sitting on the beach masturbating while watching children play.
She quickly got the four kids, ranging in age from 8 to 11, into the water, then called 911 and her husband who lives close by.
He ran to the beach, beating police to the scene.
"My wife said she could see his penis clearly," he told BayToday.
When he arrived, he was surprised to find the man was still masturbating.
"He had a drink in his hand, and there was something he was sniffing as well. I approached him, and said 'Hey what are you doing?'"
"Oh, I'm not doin' nothin'," the man replied.
The husband, who wishes to remain anonymous and we'll call Mr. M, answered, "That doesn't look like nothing to me. You're masturbating while watching the kids. The police are on their way and I don't want to cause any more problems."
That's when a fight started as the man attacked and Mr. M tried to restrain him until police arrived.
"It was about three minutes, but if felt like an hour," he recalls.
When police came, they asked if the couple had seen the man's penis and they replied, "yes."
"That's good enough for us," the police replied and quickly handcuffed the suspect.
Mr. M says the police thanked the couple and said they were appreciative of their actions.
"North Bay is a great city and we don't need these scum bags around, you know what I mean?" said Mr. M. "I'm feeling sad and disgusted.
"My concern is a lot of people go to the waterfront with kids and I want them to be aware that this stuff is going on. I'd feel bad if I didn't step in and something bad happened to the kids."
And while his stepping in possibly prevented something worse, he says his actions had an effect on his own family.
"My daughter and her friends didn't see what was going on. The only thing they saw was Daddy is fighting with another stranger, and that bothered them a lot. I didn't tell them the guy was masturbating, I told them he was intoxicated in a public place and we called police."
He was also surprised that others on the beach didn't jump in to help.
"Even when I was restraining him, nobody was helping me. I was really disappointed."
North Bay Police Cst. Erin Pemberton says a 36-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident.
He is charged with:
- Committing and indecent act
- Breach of prohibition (not to be in areas with children under the age of 16)
- Breach of probation
The suspect was held for a bail hearing.
