Gainesville man arrested for indecent exposure inside retail store

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Watson Milien Chery, 19, was arrested yesterday for allegedly following women around Walmart, exposing his genitals.

At about 3 p.m. on June 12, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to the northwest Walmart (5700 NW 23rd Street), where a store employee reported that Chery had been seen on surveillance video, following different women and exposing his genitals while masturbating. The employee said this happened two or three times, all captured on video. When Chery left the store, the employee called the police.

The officer found Chery sitting in a vehicle at a nearby business, and Chery reportedly stated spontaneously that he was the person the officer was looking for. He said he went to Walmart for an item, but he did not find it, so he got bored, went to the makeup department, and took out his phone; he said he “got distracted” while he was using his phone.

When the officer asked what that meant, Chery reportedly said he was on X and saw videos of people exposing themselves in public, which made him want to do that, to see what it felt like. He reportedly said he has an ongoing addiction to pornography and exhibition videos.

After arresting Chery, the officer asked him whether this was the first time he had exposed himself in public, and Chery reportedly said it was; however, when the officer said the Walmart employee recognized him from a previous incident in which he had exposed himself in the same store, Chery reportedly admitted that he had done this before in the same Walmart.

Chery has been charged with exposure of sexual organs. He has no local adult criminal history; Judge David Kreider set bail at $5,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.