"TEAROOM" SEX....

Four Beach Cities residents among 18 men arrested for lewd acts in bathroom by Carley Dryden

Eighteen men were arrested in Manhattan Beach for engaging in lewd acts over several weeks in a beach bathroom that had been publicized on the Internet as a popular meet-up for sex. Undercover detectives set up sting operations throughout the month of March at the Marine Avenue men's bathroom after being alerted to suspicious activities by the L.A. County lifeguards. Beginning in late February, lifeguards noticed that the same men would loiter in the area and return to the bathroom, staying inside much longer than the typical visit. "Some folks would be in there over an hour at a time," said Manhattan Beach Police Officer Stephanie Martin. "The lifeguards would do a walk-through and see two and three pairs of feet in a stall." The county maintenance staff also reported sexually graphic graffiti on the walls and holes drilled into the stall partitions. "Maintenance would patch up the holes, and the next day, they were drilled out again," Martin said. Undercover detectives set up initial surveillance of the bathroom and within minutes, made their first arrest. Detectives also began monitoring various Internet sites, such as chat rooms and social networking, where the Marine Avenue bathroom was being discussed. During six separate sting operations in March, 18 men, ranging in age from 20 to 59, were arrested on various charges including soliciting/engaging in lewd conduct in a public place, loitering around a public toilet to engage in a lewd or unlawful act, utilizing a peephole in a restroom (an invasion of privacy), resisting arrest and indecent exposure. One man was from Manhattan Beach, one from Redondo Beach, one from Hermosa Beach and one from El Segundo. Most of the arrests were made in the middle of the day, Martin said. "It's shocking," said a lifeguard captain who could not speak further about the incident. Each arrestee was released pending a court date or further investigation. Depending on the charge, they could potentially face a $2,000 fine and up to one year in county jail. Martin said the men targeted the Marine Avenue bathroom since it was the only one along the city's beach with doors on the stalls, providing privacy and concealment. The doors have since been removed by the county, which maintains the restrooms. The police chief said the department will periodically conduct undercover operations in the beach bathrooms going forward. "We don't anticipate anything going on in the bathrooms again," Martin said. "We did an immediate, quick and aggressive investigation and made so many arrests. We're trying to get out, 'Don't come here for that. People are going to go to jail.' We don't want that in our public restrooms." Redondo Beach Police Sgt. Shawn Freeman said there have been no reported sexual incidents in any of the Redondo Beach restrooms, and therefore no arrests. Hermosa Beach Police Det. Mick Gaglia said the city occasionally makes an indecent exposure or lewd act arrest in a public bathroom, "but we haven't had any severe history of it." "It's nothing we would consider an overwhelming problem for the city," he said. "We haven't had any multiple arrests and no repeat offenders. We always encourage no one to let their child go into the bathroom by themselves; be aware of who is in there when they go inside." READ MORE repost courtesy~ heath daniels~ west hollywood/antebellum correspondent