Police investigating man who exposed himself to school kids

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The Fort Wayne Police Department is looking into an incident that happened early Tuesday morning when a man exposed himself to several school kids at Northwood Middle School.

The police department says it was reported that a man had removed his clothing and was lying on the ground in the wooded area and reportedly appeared to be masturbating.

Officers then located the man in a nearby neighborhood matching the description provided by witnesses.  During the investigation, police learned that the 22-year-old man lived in a house nearby with his mother and that he was mentally disabled.

The suspect's mother was contacted and the man was released to her care.

The incident remains under investigation by the FWPD and the report was forwarded to Mental Health Services and to the Allen County Adult Protective Services.

After the incident, the principal at Northwood Middle School released the following statement:

Dear Parents/Guardians,

"I am writing to let you know of a situation that occurred today (Tuesday) and of the steps that were taken to ensure the safety of our student and staff.

This morning (Tuesday), we became aware of a man outside our building exposing himself and visible to many students in classrooms inside the building.  This man was in our woods, north of the school, and was not close to our building.  We immediately contacted police, who arrived and removed the man from the area.  Students were never in any danger, and we worked to maintain a secure learning environment despite the distraction."