Reginald Bernard Williams

THOMASVILLE — A homeless man was charged with child molestation after a Tuesday incident at Cherokee Lake Park.

A woman told police that while she was walking the park track a few minutes before 6 p.m., a man stood on a park bench and masturbated while looking at her.

The woman said the act was committed in front of five or six children under the age of 10 and her 1-year-old child.

Thomasville Police Department officers in uniform and plain clothes conduct walking patrols in the park during the day. Several officers had seen the man around a park bench.

“He wasn’t doing anything, just in the park,” Capt. Maurice Holmes, TPD Criminal Investigations Division commander, said.

The woman called 911 and took a photograph of the suspect, Reginald Bernard Williams, 23, in the act, the commander said.

The suspect, who told police he is homeless, is charged with child molestation. 

“He was gratifying himself in the presence of children,” Holmes said. ” … He proceeded to masturbate openly in the park in front of several people, including several children.”

Williams remained in the Thomas County Jail Thursday morning pending arraignment.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820