Sexual Behavior In Wilmington Leads To 3 Charges From Wilmington Police Department: Complaint

WILMINGTON, IL —A Wilmington man who was the focus of a 2016 Joliet Patch crime story regarding a masturbation-related arrest now faces three new charges from the Wilmington Police Department, and all involve allegations of public indecency.

According to last week's criminal complaint against 39-year-old Joshua Cartwright, the Wilmington man knowingly committed an act of sexual conduct in a public place, near the front window of a house in the 400 block of Railroad Street, in Wilmington. The incident happened back on Feb. 24.

The second public indecency charge states that Cartwright knowingly committed another act of sexual conduct at the front window of a public place in the 400 block of Railroad Street the next day on Feb. 25.

The third and final charge of public indecency states that Cartwright committed sexual conduct in the front window, also at the house in the 400 block of Railroad Street, for a third consecutive day, Feb. 26. The criminal complaint was filed by the Wilmington Police Department.

This past Monday, Will County Judge Chrystel Gavlin noted that Cartwright is not charged with a detainable offense, pursuant to the SAFE-T-Act. The judge ordered Cartwright to be back at the Will County Courthouse for his next pretrial appearance in Courtroom 303 on April 27.

Back in 2016, Patch reporter Joseph Hosey produced a story about Cartwright headlined, "Masturbating In Front of Woman At Wilmington Apartment Building Is Against The Law: Cops." The 2016 story indicated that the 29-year-old Wilmington man allegedly masturbated in front of a woman at a Baltimore Street apartment building.

In that case, Cartwright was charged with public indecency and disorderly conduct. Cartwright allegedly masturbated in front of the woman two days before Valentine’s Day.

Cartwright “knowingly masturbated while looking at the” 31-year-old woman, and also “knowingly exposed his sex organ in a lewd manner with the intent to arouse or satisfy (his) sexual desire,” according to the criminal complaint filed against him.

Will County Jail logs show that Cartwright spent most of 2024 in the jail, following a Will County Sheriff's Office arrest on several violent crimes, including aggravated battery against a victim older than 60 and four domestic battery crimes.