People who know me even casually know that I'm a runner. I run after work as many nights a week as a surgically repaired knee will allow.  I live not to terribly far from the Roberts Stadium - Wesselman Park area and at least a couple of nights a week I run through Wesselman Park.  On several occasions I had noticed a man parked in a jeep, sitting alone.  Didn't think much of it as people sit in the park alone all the time.  After reading this on courierpress.com though, something in my mind clicked and took me back to the image of that guy sitting alone in his jeep in the park.  Anyway, for those who don't know the story, an Evansville man admitted to grabbing about 100 men in the bathroom of Garvin Park over the last 20 years after officers arrested him Wednesday. He is accused of sexually battering a learning disabled man there, according to an Evansville Police Department report.

from courierpress.com
from courierpress.com
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George Louis Schmadel, 55, was arrested on a preliminary felony charge of sexual battery.

Police said an adult male called 911 about 3 p.m. Wednesday and reported he was sexually assaulted in the bathroom at Garvin Park. Two officers responded to the call within a minute and stopped Schmadel after seeing that he matched a description given by the victim.

The victim told police he stopped to get a drink while riding his bicycle home. He said he saw Schmadel sitting in a Jeep and that Schmadel came over to speak to him, according to an affidavit of probable cause. He said that he entered the bathroom and as he was washing his hands, Schmadel cornered him and touched his genitals against his will. The man said he yelled "no" and ran out of the restroom and called 911.

Schmadel at first denied touching the man but then admitted it and said the man told him "no," when questioned by a detective at police headquarters, according to the police affidavit.

When the detective asked Schmadel why he would do such a thing, according to police, Schmadel said he had grabbed approximately 100 men in a similar manner at Garvin Park in the past 20 years. Police said he also said that he had done the same thing about 15 times at Wesselman Park and 15 times at Sunset Park before Kids Kingdom playground was built.

So, it seems an excellent chance that is was this sicko that I saw sitting in a jeep in Wesselman Park on several occasions.  After seeing his picture, the images in my memory seemed even stronger.   I wish to God I could have caught him in the process of stalking and/or acquiring a victim.  I'm sure that after I called 9-1-1 I'd have a assault and battery charge against me for beating the S**t out of this perv.\

This case can teach us all a lesson though in helping out the community by being vigilant and being aware of what's going on around you.  If you see something out-of-sorts...something that doesn't seem right that's taking place...it's worth a call to 9-1-1.

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