BELLA VISTA (KFSM) — A Bentonville man was fined $500 and order to perform 10 days of community service for masturbating on a trail last summer.
Dinesh Panchavarnam, 31, pleaded no contest last month in Bella Vista District Court to indecent exposure.
Judge Ray Bunch sentenced Panchavarnam to 180 days in jail with 180 days suspended and fined him $2,500 with $2,000 suspended.
Panchavarnam must also pay court costs alongside meeting his community service requirements.
Bella Vista police arrested Panchavarnam on Aug. 27, 2018, after two women said they recorded him masturbating behind them on the Tanyard Creek Nature Trail.
One of the women pretended to take a photo of her friend, but actually took a video that captured Panchavarnam hiding in the bushes, according to an arrest report.
The women then watched the recording and saw Panchavarnam was masturbating in the grass and pulling his pants up, according to the report.
The women ran to their car and called police, who located Panchavarnam on the trail.
Panchavarnam told one officer he was masturbating and apologized, but denied the allegations to a different officer.
No contest pleas allow defendants to avoid admitting guilt while accepting a prosecutor’s recommend sentence in exchange for not contesting the charge.
