A Bucks County deputy sheriff has been accused of exposing himself to a woman at Silver Lake Park.
Stephen Springfield, 39, of Bristol Township, was charged with indecent exposure, open lewdness and disorderly conduct — all misdemeanors — Saturday night.
Springfield aimed his cell phone at a woman from his red pickup truck, which was parked in the parking lot off Bath Road, and tried to show her pornography on Oct. 3, said two county officials in an affidavit of probable cause.
When the woman ignored him, the officials said, Springfield “jiggled a bag of Starburst Chews out of his window,” asking the woman if she wanted any. When the woman declined, Springfield continued to ask whether she wanted any Skittles or Smarties instead — again, he was rebuffed, according to the affidavit.
That’s when the deputy sheriff exposed himself, said the county officials. As he did so, he allegedly tried to lure the woman into his truck by asking her if she liked pornography, adding that he liked it, according to the affidavit.
At that point, the woman then left Silver Lake Park, but she saw Springfield in his truck again during two return visits she made to the park later in the week, the officials wrote. On Wednesday, she saw Springfield asking a “10- to 12-year-old boy” on a bicycle questions; she approached, told the boy to stay away and Springfield to leave and “not come back,” according to the affidavit. When the woman saw Springfield at the park again Friday, she took a cellphone photograph of his license plate and later called park rangers, the officials said. The park rangers went to the park, but did not find Springfield.
County park rangers again were dispatched to Silver Lake Park Saturday morning, responding to a report that Springfield again was spotted in the parking lot, but when they arrived, the deputy sheriff was not there, according to the affidavit. While at the park, officers spoke to a man who said he saw a man matching Springfield’s description “attempting to show a woman pornography in the parking lot from his red pickup truck and … offering her candy” a couple of days prior, officials said.
When a park ranger called Springfield to interview him, Springfield told the ranger he was relieving himself at the park, according to the affidavit. When asked “what really happened” at the park, Springfield answered “probably exactly what (the witnesses) said,” and confirmed he was watching pornography on his phone, the officials said.
Springfield has been employed by the county as a deputy sheriff, confirmed spokesman Chris Edwards. Edwards did not know whether Springfield was still employed Monday afternoon, and this news organization was unsuccessful in reaching the county sheriff’s office for further information.
Springfield was arraigned in front of District Judge Frank Peranteau Saturday evening, according to court documents. He was released on a $25,000 surety bond and is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing Oct. 18 before District Judge Joanne Kline.