Iowa City man accused of masturbating at local convenience store

An Iowa City man was arrested on a warrant stemming from a March incident where he allegedly followed customers in a convenience store and masturbated in front of them.

The incident occurred at the Muscatine Avenue Kum & Go at around 12:30am on March 16th. Customers called 911 to report that an unknown male had said sexual things to them and began masturbating in their presence. The victims were able to provide a description of the man, identified as 54-year-old Kenneth Kelly of Wayne Avenue. Video surveillance footage reportedly showed Kelly approaching the store and the victims.

An officer then later canvassed the area with photos of Kelly. Multiple subjects from the store, neighboring businesses and apartments allegedly identified him as the subject in the photos. When the officer confronted Kelly at his apartment, he reportedly admitted that he had clothing that matched the video, but denied it was him.

The victims of the incident positively identified Kelly independently during a photo lineup.

Police obtained a search warrant and seized clothing that matched surveillance video and traffic cameras from the incident. After being read his Miranda rights, Kelly allegedly claimed that he wasn’t exposing himself and was instead scratching his genitals.

Kelly was arrested Thursday afternoon and charged with Indecent Exposure, a serious misdemeanor punishable by a jail term of up to a year if convicted. No-contact orders were requested between Kelly and the victims.