Danbury Man Charged With

Public Indecency At NHS

By Andrew Gorosko

Following an incident inside Newtown High School on the afternoon of Saturday, June 5, police arrested a Danbury man on a charge of public indecency, among other offenses, for allegedly lewdly exposing himself in a hallway while masturbating.

Police said Brian C. Hawkins, 32, of 21 Broad Street, Danbury, who has an extensive criminal record involving such incidents, was charged without incident in the high school parking lot. Police charged Hawkins with public indecency, loitering on school grounds for the purpose of public indecency, and breach of peace. Police held Hawkins on $100,000 bail over the weekend for arraignment in Danbury Superior Court on Monday, June 7.

Hawkins, who reportedly was able to post a reduced bail after pleading “not guilty” to the charges, was scheduled to appear in court again on June 14.

“The accused was observed lewdly exposing himself in one of the main hallways…This incident caused annoyance and alarm to those in the immediate area,” police said in a statement.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said, “It’s alarming to many, many people that a previous sexual offender is loitering on school grounds.”

Hawkins is listed as a convicted sex offender on the Connecticut Department of Public Safety’s Sex Offender Registry on the Internet. That listing stems from a December 1999 conviction on a charge of public indecency. Hawkins’ arrest record, which dates back to 1993, involves at least six arrests on such sex charges.

In a June 6 letter to the parents and guardians of Newtown High School students, Principal William Manfredonia described the incident, which occurred in the high school about 1 pm on June 5.

“A parent, who had just brought his child to the high school for a Park and Recreation gymnastics class, witnessed a middle-aged man, who was by himself, involved in a lewd sexual activity. The man was in the hallway that parallels the main gymnasium and overlooks the parking lot. Fortunately, there were no other students or adults in the hallway, and to date, we have no additional information that there were any additional witnesses to the man’s actions,” the school principal wrote.

Police are seeking to learn whether anyone else witnessed Hawkins performing lewd acts at the school.

Police said that surveillance videotape recordings indicate that Hawkins was at the school from 12:26 to 1:15 pm. Hawkins was wearing light gray sweatpants, a green T-shirt, and white sneakers at the time he was apprehended. Hawkins is white, has blue eyes and brown hair, is six feet tall and weighs about 230 pounds.

Police ask anyone who may have witnessed lewd acts by Hawkins at the school to contact them at 426-5841 or at 270-8888.

In his letter to parents, Mr Manfredonia wrote that the male parent who saw Hawkins performing the lewd act confronted Hawkins, who then left the school through the front door. “The parent immediately called the police, who quickly arrived, confronted the man, and arrested him,” the principal said.

The following day, Mr Manfredonia, high school security officer Richard Novia, and police reviewed the surveillance videotapes of Hawkins’ presence in the school the previous day.

“We were able to track the actions of this man, from when he first arrived at the school, up to when the police arrived and arrested him,” Mr Manfredonia wrote.

Mr Manfredonia said, “This is an extremely disturbing incident…Although there were no school functions occurring…there were several community activities being held that involved young children from our community.”

The principal stressed his commitment to keeping schools a safe place for public use at all times.

Mr Manfredonia said he will review the school building’s usage and the public safety measures that are in place during school hours, after school hours, and on nights and weekends.

The principal said he would be speaking to representatives of groups that frequently use the school, such and the Parks and Recreation Department and various dance recital groups. Such organizations sponsor activities for young children at the school. Mr Manfredonia said he wants to ensure that adequate child supervision is provided.

The high school principal said in the letter, “It is extremely important to alert the community to this situation, so that all of us are vigilant in our supervision of all children that use any school or community buildings and grounds.”