| For Immediate Release Case# 09HM07369
|
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER FACES TRIAL FOR EXPOSING PENIS TO TWO WOMEN IN ORTHODONTIC OFFICE AND SCHOOL DISTRICT EVENT
NEWPORT BEACH – A junior high school music teacher faces trial tomorrow for exposing his penis to two women, an orthodontist’s receptionist during his son’s dental appointment and a fellow teacher at a school district event. Mark Gerard Petrash, 42, Lake Forest, is charged with two misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of two years in jail. Opening statements are expected to begin tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010, at 11:30 a.m. in Department H-12, Harbor Justice Center, Newport Beach.
On Aug. 24, 2009, Petrash is accused of taking his son to an orthodontist appointment. His son went in to see the orthodontist and Petrash waited in the empty reception room. While alone in the waiting room, the defendant is accused of standing up, pulling up his shorts, and exposing his penis to orthodontic receptionist Jane Doe #1 by holding it out the leg of his shorts.
Jane Doe #1 reported the incident to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD). Following an investigation, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office charged Petrash with one misdemeanor count of indecent exposure. He was arrested by OCSD deputies on Oct. 1, 2009, at Serrano Intermediate School in Lake Forest. The defendant posted $10,000 bail, the standard bail for the charged crime, on Oct. 5, 2009, and appeared in court for his arraignment on Oct. 29, 2009.
After viewing the media coverage of the arrest of Petrash, Jane Doe #2, a teacher in the same school district as the defendant, came forward to police. On the night of May 8, 2009, Petrash is accused of attending a Saddleback Valley Unified School District event. He is accused of following Jane Doe #2 into a hotel restroom and entering her restroom stall. Petrash is accused of standing between the victim and the door and exposing and rubbing his penis. He is accused of putting his finger over his mouth, indicating that Jane Doe #2 should be quiet. The victim was able to escape from the restroom stall.
Deputy District Attorney Marc Caress is prosecuting this case.
###