Sex Offender Charged With Lewd Act in Stafford Twp Parking Lot
Stafford Township Police were called to the Manahawkin Target store to respond to a report of a man in the parking lot exposing himself in his car.
An investigation led to James G. Doll, 48 of Howell being arrested on a charge of fourth-degree lewdness for an "act of lewdness" in the parking lot on Jan. 17, police said.
The woman who called the police said she saw Doll watching pornography on his phone in his car for sexual gratification after he pulled into the parking spot next to her while she was waiting for an online order to be delivered to her car.
The Monmouth County man is a registered sex offender who was first convicted of lewdness in 1995 according to New Jersey's sex offender registry.
Doll was also convicted of exposing himself and lewd behavior in the view of female children in 1998.
Under New Jersey law, fourth-degree lewdness involves exposing genitalia "for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of the actor or of any other person" where the actor knows or expects to be seen by a child under 13 years old or someone with a mental disability where they are unable to understand the sexual nature of the act.
Doll is a tier 2 sex offender categorized as "repetitive compulsive" under Megan's Law.
Police were able to identify Doll through his vehicle registration and he was arrested and taken to the Ocean County Jail, according to a release.