Sep 15, 2017 3 min read

A Louisiana man was taken into custody Thursday night on charges of open lewdness and indecent exposure filed by South Strabane Township police after he allegedly masturbated in front of three women on three different days while in his vehicle in a Strabane Square parking lot earlier this month.

Brennan Paul Touchet, 27, of Branch, allegedly exposed himself to the women Sept. 7, 8 and 9 in the parking lot outside Kohl’s. He was arrested by state police in Greensburg and returned to Washington County Friday morning by township police for arraignment before District Judge Robert Redlinger.

“This is unusual in that he did it three days in a row,” said Detective Ken Torboli, who filed the charges against Touchet. “You don’t see that too often.”

A loss-prevention officer working Sept. 7 was inside the store watching the video feed from an outside camera and noticed a car driving around the parking lot and pulling next to vehicles before driving off in the direction of Target. Suspecting the person in the car might be involved in a retail theft, the loss-prevention officer went outside and got into her car. She watched as the other vehicle drove around the lot before parking two spaces from her car.

She told Torboli she could immediately see the man, later identified as Touchet, had exposed himself and was masturbating. She called police, but the driver left the parking lot before officers arrived.

The following day, a woman told police she was walking into the store when a man drove up to her. The man exposed himself and masturbated, the woman said. She gave police a description of the man and the car, which had out-of-state registration. The next day, another woman called police to report that a man drove up to her car as she was getting out. He exposed himself to her and masturbated. The alleged victim took photographs of the man and his vehicle.

Store video surveillance captured all three incidents, and police were able to check the vehicle registration. Touchet, who was in the area working, has multiple previous arrests in Louisiana for public masturbation, Torboli noted in court documents.

“The loss-prevention officer at Kohl’s did a good job,” Torboli said. “She also helped us get video after the other women complained.

“It is even possible that it happened to more women,” the detective added. “Because of the sensitivity, some may be reluctant to report it.”

Touchet, who was placed in Washington County jail on $25,000 bond, faces a Sept. 28 preliminary hearing before District Judge Jay Weller.