Plain City Man Pleads Guilty to Public Indecency Involving Child in Union County

A Plain City man pleaded guilty and was sentenced on a first-degree misdemeanor charge of public indecency in the Juvenile division of the Union County Common Pleas Court.

According to that release from the Union County Prosecutor, the charge is connected to an incident at the Jerome Community Pool over the summer when Mason was playing games in the pool with children.

The full release can be found below:

Union County deputies responded to complaints of a man exposing himself while in the Jerome Community Pool. The caller reported an unidentified man had exposed himself to a 9-year-old girl. The child had been playing “Monkey in the Middle” with the defendant and other children. While playing, the man was reportedly “jumping up and down” and asked the child to see whether his swim trunks had fallen. The child did so, reporting to authorities that she saw the man’s exposed penis. The man also reportedly made inappropriate comments to the child.

Union County Sheriff Detective Sergeant Shawn Golden was able to identify the Defendant as Phillip Charles Mason by comparing the man’s description to pool security video and confirming the defendant’s identity using sign-in logs.

When interviewed, Mason admitted that he was at the pool playing monkey-in-the-middle, and that his swim trunks “may have” slipped down while he was playing. However, the 62-year-old Plain City man contended that any exposure was accidental.

Mason was charged with Public Indecency, a first-degree misdemeanor. Because the victims were children, the charges were filed in the Juvenile Division of the Common Pleas Court. Mason entered a plea of guilty to the charge, but continued to deny any purposeful exposure.

Mason was sentenced to the maximum term of 180 days in jail with 90 days suspended. He was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and pay a $500 fine. Mason is also required to register as a Tier 1 sex offender for fifteen years. As part of his sentence, Mason is required to attend and successfully complete sex offender and drug and alcohol counseling. He will be on community control for 3 years, during which time he is ordered not to be at the pool or have contact with the victims or their families.