A 49-year-old Fitzgerald man has been arrested and charged with one felony count in connection with indecent exposure for a July 2 incident at Fulwood Park.

According to Lt. Porter Jackson of the Tifton Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division, Howard Milsap Sr. of 501 W. Pine St., Fitzgerald, was arrested in Fitzgerald Thursday.

“Apparently this story has circulated on the Internet and we want to let people know that he has been arrested and that we take this seriously,” Jackson said.

At 3:10 p.m. on July 2, an Enigma woman who works in Tifton had plans to eat dinner here with her husband. Instead of driving home, she decided to go to Fulwood Park until her husband was able to join her. According to the TPD incident report, the woman called E-911 and said that a man was outside one of the restrooms at the park and watching children as he exposed himself. She called E-911 a second time and described what the man was wearing and told the dispatcher where the direction the man was walking in the park and later running towards Prince Avenue and then down Eighth Street.

An officer arrived and found a man fitting the description kneeling at the rear of a white Ford Expedition. The officer wrote in his report that he talked with Milsap and got some information from him, but the dispatcher was unable to get the woman back on the telephone and had to let the suspect leave. Exum again called E-911 and the officer made contact with her and she told him what she had seen. The woman told the officer that the man was standing outside of the restrooms at the park and watching children as he committed the act. She told the officer that no one else had seen the offender. The woman apparently saw him driving the Expedition with a Ben Hill County tag.

Jackson said several attempts were made to locate Milsap and when his address was determined, the TPD issued a warrant for his arrest and the Ben Hill County Sheriff’s Office served the warrant.

“This doesn’t happen on a regular basis but we do take these incidents seriously,” Jackson said.

Jackson said Milsap has prior misdemeanor charges of a similar nature.

“That’s what led to this being a felony charge,” Jackson said.

To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.