'Serial Public Masturbator' Arrested Again In Piermont

UPDATE — Bates Indicted After Naked Closet Arrest. The Rockland County District Attorney's Office announced at 4:30 p.m. that Brian Bates had been indicted on a felony burglary charge.

PIERMONT, NY — Piermont police arrested Brian Bates, dubbed a "serial public masturbator" by the New York Post, after they said he broke into a condo in the Lawrence Park complex Sept. 18. Police said they found him hiding in a closet.

The incident occurred five weeks after Bates was charged by Piermont police with public lewdness. He is alleged to have exposed himself to a female Aug. 12.

Police said they had assigned a community officer to Lawrence Park on the 18th due to numerous complaints from residents. While Officer Healy was checking the complex, he was made aware of a break-in. He and Sergeant Hurley found Bates.

A neighbor told Nyack-Piermont Patch that Bates broke into a condo, stripped, and rummaged through children's belongings and was found hiding in a child's closet.

Bates was arraigned by Judge Gallucci and sent to Rockland County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail, police said.

Bates has an extensive history of public lewdness and sexual misconduct, police said.

Bates was arrested in December 2018 in Paramus, New Jersey in a doctor's office. “Upon police arrival, officers found Bates in the bathroom with the door open while masturbating and simultaneously attempting to penetrate his anus with the handle of the toilet bowl scrubber,” borough Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said in a statement. “This act was witnessed by several adult females who were in the office."

New Jersey 101.5 reported then that Bates had been arrested locally three previous times on lewdness charges for exposing himself to children. The New York Post called him a "serial public masturbator."

At the time, the 47-year-old lived in Spring Valley.

Chief Michael O’Shea said the Piermont Police Department will continue to utilize the community policing unit.

Police ask that if you observe the man in their photos acting or conducting himself in an alarming way to you or others, to call 911 immediately or the Village of Piermont Police at 845-359-0240.