Duct tape, rope and zip ties were found inside a Sterling Heights man's vehicle after he was arrested for exposing himself to a woman at an Oakland County park, Waterford police said.
The woman, 40, said the man opened the driver's side door of her vehicle with his pants down to his knees and fondled himself on Sept. 10 at Waterford Oaks County Park, police said in a release.
Fearful the man was going to assault her, police said, the woman put up her arm and pushed the suspect back out of the doorway, then closed and locked her car door. The man fled in an SUV and was later arrested after aFlock automated license plate reader hit on the license plate the victim provided, according to the release.
Police commended the woman for being aware of her
surroundings, including getting the license plate number, and said, "We are confident this arrest has prevented future similar crimes." They called the suspect "dangerous" in their release and said investigators are in contact with surrounding police agencies to see if similar crimes have been reported in other communities.
Police said Karl Edward Teschler, 46, was charged with assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct, fourth degree, force or coercion, a five-year felony, and aggravated indecent exposure, a 2-year high court misdemeanor.
A not guilty plea was entered by the 51st District Court in Waterford during his arraignment on Sept. 12, according to online court records, which listed a $50,000 bond. He was released from the county jail the same day, according to online jail records. Online records for MI-VINE, a service that provides access to offender data, indicated he bonded out.
Messages were left for Teschler's attorney, who could not be immediately reached for comment Monday, Sept. 14.
Police said the woman was sitting in her vehicle with the driver's door open when she saw a tan-colored SUV park several spaces away. Several minutes later, the SUV moved, backing in next to her so her driver's door was next to the driver's door of the SUV, according to the release.
The woman felt uncomfortable, so she shut her door, it said. The man got out of his SUV and opened the driver's side door of her vehicle, police said, standing in the doorway next to her, exposing himself. She pushed him back and closed and locked her door. He immediately went to his SUV and fled the park, which is on Scott Lake Road.
The victim got the SUV's license plate number, and aFlock hit caught an image of the vehicle and license plate as it entered the park, with police confirming it was a 2007 Chevy Tahoe registered to an address in Sterling Heights.
Police put an alert on the license plate number and received a Flock hit about 90 minutes after the exposure incident in the area of 15 Mile and Utica Road, near the address of the registered owner. Sterling Heights police took the suspect into custody at the Sterling Heights address, according to the release.
Teschler's next court dates are Sept. 22 for a probable cause conference and Sept. 29 for a preliminary exam.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Duct tape, rope found in SUV after Oakland County park exposure arrest
