HINGHAM, Mass. — A man accused of exposing himself to a young boy inside a bathroom at an indoor sports facility on the South Shore faced a judge on Wednesday.
Robert N. Schroeter, 44, of Pembroke, was arraigned in Hingham District Court on a charge of open and gross lewdness, according to Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz. A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.
Officers were called to the University Sports Complex at 637 Washington Street in Hanover on Feb. 4 to investigate an incident involving a man and a child that had occurred the night before, Cruz’s office noted.
The parent of a 7-year-old boy told officers that her son was washing his hands in a bathroom at the facility when he turned around to see a man, later identified as Schroeter, “with his erect penis in his hand, wiping it with a paper towel,” according to prosecutors.
Schroeter then allegedly told the boy, “You gotta keep it clean,” prosecutors said.
“That act obviously caused serious alarm and shock to this young child. In my opinion, this is something is very indicative of predatory behavior,” Hanover Police Chief Timothy Kane said.
Schroeter was identified as the police department’s suspect after police posted an image taken by one of the facility’s many security cameras
Schroeter is not employed by the sports facility, and police say he had no real reason to be there.
Police say Schoeter and his wife own Silverpeak, a photography company that specializes in team and individual photos of South Shore youth sports programs,
No one came to the door at Schroeter’s home in Pembroke
And after his arraignment, Schroeter continued to try to hide his face from us.
Back in Hanover, police say the investigation is not over.
“The fact that he conducts this kind of business where he is constantly in contact with these young children, and then picks out a venue where he knows that’s going to be filled with children at that time. For us, I’d look at that there could be potentially other cases,” Chief Kane said.
Bay State Breakers, which uses Schroeter photography company, has announced that they have parted ways with Silverpeak Studios.
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, the Hockey organization addressed Schroeter’s charges and court appearance. They stated, “We have cut ties with Silverpeak Studios moving forward and to our knowledge there have never been any complaints against them in the past from any Breakers families.”
Prosecutors say police developed probable cause to arrest Schroeter after conducting interviews and reviewing surveillance footage from the facility.
Schroeter was released on $5,000 bail with the conditions that he stay away and have no contact with the victim in the case, have no unsupervised contact with any children under the age of 16, and have no contact with the University Sports Complex.
He is due back in court on March 14.
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