An alleged flasher who has been accused of touching his genitals in front of teen-age girls at Church Square Park on several occasions was arrested Monday and charged with 44 counts of criminal sexual contact, lewdness and endangering the welfare of children. Mark Mraz, 30, of Washington Street, was apprehended after a short chase that involved police and teachers from a nearby school, witnesses said. Witnesses told the Reporter that a suspect had been in the park approaching a handful of girls just moments before the arrest. Officers John Orrico and Bernard DellaFave apprehended Mraz on Sixth Street near the park shortly after noon. He was taken to Hudson County Jail in Kearny that evening. An arraignment date has not yet been set. Grunting Monday afternoon, a half dozen girls stood in front of police headquarters with their parents – some of whom are city officials – as they waited to give police their accounts of the events that led to Mraz’s arrest. A 13-year-old girl who was in front of the police station said that the previous week, she and friends had seen a man expose himself in the park. “First we noticed him because he kept walking back and forth in front of us and like, grunting,” she said. “He was saying things like ‘Hey, girls,’ and then grunting some more. And then he exposed himself to us.” Lt. Det. Anthony Falco, the investigator who took many of the children’s statements, said last week that he could not recall a similar sexual misconduct event involving children in the mile-square city. Officials were quick to point out that the incident was not part of a larger problem and that the suspect was apprehended soon after the first complaints were filed. “This is a just an isolated case,” said Falco. “It’s not a part of a larger pattern.” Although Mraz is not accused of having touched any of the girls, he will face criminal sexual contact charges because he allegedly was touching himself in front of girls who were under 16, officials explained. Not afraid Although they had just been through a difficult experience, many of the girls said that they were not too worried about spending time with their friends in public areas like the park. “If I saw him again, I’d be really freaked out,” said one 13-year-old. “I’m a little afraid that he’ll be coming back, but I’m still going to go to the park with friends during lunch and after school.” Many parents, who kept younger siblings occupied while their daughters told investigators their stories, said that they did not plan to restrict their daughters’ activities in the city as a result of these events. “What can you do differently? Move?” said one dad. “Put them under lock and key? Come on. I’m not sure that there is anything to be done about this sort of thing except maybe invest more in mental health programs. I know there are a lot of people out there who would like to lynch the guy, and there is a part of me that would really like to kick his ass, but really that guy needs help.” Other parents said that they would continue to talk with their kids about these sorts of situations. “This is going to generate another very serious discussion on this topic,” said one parent. “Not the first and not the last. But something much more than just ‘Don’t talk to strangers.'”
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