An Oregon man with a long record of indecent-exposure convictions, once nicknamed the "I-5 flasher" in the Seattle area, is back in legal trouble after Oregon State Police say he was seen pleasuring himself while driving on Interstate 5. Troopers stopped the vehicle near the Woodburn exit last Wednesday and took its driver into custody. Authorities have identified the suspect as 56-year-old Charles MacDonald Porter.
How the stop unfolded
According to KATU, Oregon State Police say troopers responded on March 18 after a driver reported seeing a man masturbating while driving on I-5 near the Woodburn exit. The witness told officers the car carried a Seahawks emblem and a University of Washington sticker and that the driver was holding up a cellphone displaying a naked woman.
Troopers pulled the vehicle over, and the driver consented to a search of his phone. Officers reported finding the image described by the witness. Porter was arraigned on March 19 on a public indecency charge, posted bail, and is due back in court on March 26.
State records and prior probation
“A spokesman for the Washington Department of Corrections confirmed Porter was on probation from May 2010 to May 2012 for indecent exposure,” KATU reports. Court documents reviewed by authorities state that the current public indecency charge was upgraded to a felony because of his prior sex-offense history.
Seattle-area past cases
As reported by HeraldNet, Porter drew regional attention in 2009–10 after multiple freeway incidents north of Seattle that led local outlets to dub him the "I-5 flasher." That earlier reporting and related court papers detail previous indecent-exposure convictions in Texas and California, as well as arrests in Snohomish County.
What the law allows
Under Oregon law, public indecency is typically charged as a misdemeanor, but it can be elevated to a Class C felony if the defendant has prior convictions for public indecency or related sex offenses, according to the Oregon Legislature. That felony classification can bring stiffer penalties if prosecutors move forward, although any sentence ultimately depends on the specifics of a conviction and a judge's ruling.
For now, Porter remains free on bail while awaiting his March 26 court date, when prosecutors will decide whether to press felony charges. For commuters and people impacted by the earlier Seattle-area cases, the arrest is an unwelcome reminder that the same behavior can resurface on the same interstate years later.
