Man Found Guilty of Indecent Exposure in Santa Rosa

On January 31, a Sonoma County jury found defendant Malik Rashaad Turner, 21 years old of Santa Rosa, guilty of indecent exposure stemming from an incident on June 1, 2019, where the defendant was witnessed by multiple people masturbating at Olive Park while standing on playground equipment.

The evidence at trial showed that at approximately 10 a.m. on the day of the incident, a volunteer crew of approximately 40 people met to clean up the creek at Prince Memorial Greenway in the city of Santa Rosa.  Included in this crew were multiple young children.  The defendant was observed by members of this group standing on top of playground equipment with his pants pulled down to his thighs.  The defendant was reported as vigorously masturbating while looking out at the park and neighborhood for a period of about ten minutes.

When contacted by a Santa Rosa Police Department Officer, the defendant immediately stated that he was just sleeping. The officer warned the defendant to keep his pants up. Shortly thereafter, the defendant walked to the other end of the park and started to masturbate again. The officer immediately contacted the defendant and placed him under arrest.

At trial two civilian witnesses testified to the defendant’s behavior and he was found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure. The defendant was summarily sentenced by the Honorable Mark Urioste to serve one year in the county jail, and was ordered to register as a sex offender.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Jason Rifkind and investigated by the Santa Rosa Police Department.