Following an investigation by an Indiana Conservation Officer, charges of public indecency and public nudity were filed yesterday against a former town marshal and school bus driver from Dugger.

The Greene County Prosecutors Office filed a criminal case yesterday/Friday, July 29, against David L. Heaton, 60, Dugger, on charges of public indecency, a Class A misdemeanor, and public nudity, a Class B misdemeanor, as a result of an investigation by Indiana Conservation Officer Cole Hollingsworth into an incident that occurred on Saturday, June 25.

Information in the probable cause affidavit prepared by ICO Hollingsworth indicates Heaton is the former Town Marshal of the Town of Dugger and a former school bus driver.

ICO Hollingsworth started his investigation on Monday morning, June 27, after the assistant property manager at Redbird State Recreation Area (SRA) reported an incident that occurred over the previous weekend at the gatehouse which is located in Greene County.

When ICO Hollingsworth spoke with the assistant property manager, he learned a female employee had informed him on Saturday, June 25, a man had come through the gatehouse around 2:30 PM that same day and masturbated in front of her. The assistant property manager said the employee told him about the incident when she returned to the main office to help with closing procedures. ICO Hollingsworth obtained a copy of the incident report and then met separately with both the assistant property manager and the employee.

According to the affidavit, a male guest at Redbird SRA who is a regular at the park, later identified as Heaton, approached the gatehouse and began a conversation with the employee then asked her for the gatehouse phone number. She provided him with the phone number and he then left but called later and asked, “Hey Boo Boo, do you have any picnic baskets?” She didn't pay much attention to him at the time because she was busy assisting other guests.

Heaton allegedly then came back to the gatehouse a short time after the phone call on his white Polaris RZR with a blue front bumper and started making small talk with her again but this time he had his leg shifted to expose his groin area before leaving the gatehouse area without further incident.

But he then allegedly called back into the gatehouse a second time, repeating the Yogi Bear impression using the “Hey Boo Boo” line. The employee was busy at the time. And then Heaton returned to the gatehouse again and during that interaction made an inappropriate statement to the employee, stating he was about to ‘c--,’ and when she looked down, she saw he had his penis out and was masturbating. He asked her if she liked it. She did not and Heaton left the gatehouse area.

When ICO Hollingsworth interviewed the employee, she explained that she grew up in Dugger and Heaton was the Town Marshal and was her bus driver when she was in school. She said when she started working at Redbird SRA, Heaton would regularly come to the gate house on the weekends when she was working and would sit and talk for 10 to 15 minutes at a time with his visits becoming more frequent on the weekends and at times he would come through the gatehouse three times a day making comments like, “There's my girl.” The employee said that after he left after the last incident, she then sat in the gatehouse and started getting upset and crying.

ICO Hollingsworth was able to talk to Heaton on July 11 when Heaton allegedly said he had encountered some people stuck on the trail and they needed help so he went up to the gate house to ask for the number which he gave to the people who were stuck. But they couldn't get through on the phone so he called the gatehouse and told them there were some people needing help back on the trail and he was going to go help them and that was it. He said he only went to the gatehouse one time.

ICO Hollingsworth noted that during the interview, without him asking anything about it, Heaton said that when it's hot out, he wears shorts and sometimes takes the doors off his RZR. Also throughout the interview, Heaton allegedly kept making the comment that it was a misunderstanding and at one point he commented, “If there is something she is saying, it was by accident, it was nothing intentional.” Heaton allegedly said it was hot out and “… I might have pulled my shorts around to be more comfortable and you know that's a possibility where I was sitting if she's seeing my underwear or something by accident I apologize.” Heaton also allegedly said “I did not do the masturbate and if the word ‘c—' came into the conversation it was not about that.”

ICO Hollingsworth wrote that throughout the entire interview, Heaton admitted and confirmed that he had called the gatehouse a couple of times and spoke with the woman. He also confirmed that he had come through the gate house and spoken with her three times. ICO Hollingsworth also noted that Heaton's story changed multiple times and he explained multiple times that it was all an unintentional accident, that he was adjusting himself and she had taken it taken it the wrong way. His story was confirming of her story except for Heaton saying he never intentionally exposed himself and directly masturbated in front of the woman.

When ICO Hollingsworth explained to Heaton that he would be submitting a report to the Greene County Prosecutor, Heaton made it very clear that he wanted this incident to go away and he would do what it took to make the issue go away. Heaton allegedly made it clear that he wanted ICO Hollingsworth to include in his report that he would be willing to accept a guilty plea to the charge so ICO Hollingsworth asked him directly if he was saying he would not fight a charge of public nudity and Heaton said. “No Sir,” meaning he would not fight it. Heaton also said you might tell the prosecutor if I need to come in and take some kind of plea deal or guilty plea or whatever, you know, I'm OK with that.

The interview was ended but ICO Hollingsworth noted in his affidavit that Heaton was not placed under any kind of detainment or arrest and that all of his comments were entirely voluntary and that he even made the comment in the interview that he knew he did not have to talk to the officer at all and only was doing so because he was an honest guy.

All of the interviews were audio recorded.

The case against Heaton was filed in Greene Superior Court. The date for his initial hearing is not yet known.