MA Sex Offender Charged With Lewdness Was Active In Braintree

WHITMAN, MA — A registered sex offender in Massachusetts faces a new charge out of Whitman, but may have been involved in similar actions in Braintree, officials said.

The Whitman Police Department announced a charge against Paul St. Martin, 59, of Hanson. Martin is a level 3 sex offender in the state and faces a charge of open and gross lewdness "following an incident where he allegedly exposed himself to juvenile victims," police said.

Martin was arraigned on July 29 at Brockton District Court and ordered held on $10,000 bail. He remains in custody at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility.

At approximately 1:45 p.m. on July 27, Whitman police responded to the area of Route 18 and Route 27 for a report of a man who allegedly exposed himself to two juvenile girls. Officers searched the area but could not immediately locate a suspect at the time.

Officers spoke to the juvenile victims who reported that a man in his 50s in a white sedan with Indiana license plates pulled the vehicle next to them as they were walking down the street and exposed himself. The man then drove off when the victims noticed him. He did not say anything to the victims and did not leave his vehicle, officials said.

In reviewing video surveillance footage from the area, officers determined that the suspect vehicle was a Chevy Malibu sedan. A "be on the lookout" announcement was made to area law enforcement agencies describing the incident, the suspect and the vehicle.

The following day, a detective received notification from a nearby police department that a similar incident had occurred in their town and witnesses were able to obtain the vehicle's license plate. Officers determined that the vehicle had recently been rented by St. Martin and obtained his home address in Hanson.

With the assistance of Hanson Police, officers stopped St. Martin as he was pulling into the parking lot of his home and placed him under arrest.

Through their investigation and in speaking with area police departments, officers determined that St. Martin allegedly committed similar acts in Marshfield, Braintree and Belmont.

Arrest warrants have been filed by the Marshfield and Braintree police departments, officials said.