A Prince William County crackdown on indecent sexual acts in Locust Shade Park has yielded three more arrests, bringing the total to eight since the beginning of May, police said Wednesday.
The popular park where families gather for picnics, paddle boat rides, baseball games and general summer fun has also become well-known for indiscreet homosexual activities, police said.
All eight men who have been arrested in three separate enforcement waves have either been caught in the act or tried to solicit an undercover officer between the hours of noon and 5:30 p.m.
In recent months park officials have received reports from families who have encountered men in bathrooms and along hiking trails, which in turn led to an investigation with undercover detectives, said police spokeswoman Sharon Richardson.
Sgt. Paul Rankin who’s been heading up the task force said the county has had similar problems in other parks, but repeated crackdowns in those areas have brought them to an end. The investigation at Locust Shade Park will continue through the summer, he said.
Locust Shade has more wild areas in comparison with others in the county, said park authority spokeswoman Dianne Cabot.
Unlike other parks that are dominated by one central activity like baseball fields or swimming pools, Locust Shade has wide open spaces, picnic pavilions, a lake and wooded areas. In the summer, it often plays host to the park authority-run day camps, and to Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops.
Camp counselors are kept close to the children and check out all bathrooms before letting their charges enter, Cabot said.
For Richardson, the issue boils down to protecting kids from unseemly sights.
“Whether it’s same sex or heterosexual you don’t need to have it in children’s faces,” she said.
