A 17-year-old Brookfield boy is facing adult criminal charges in two separate Wisconsin counties after police say he exposed himself to women and children in parking lots just miles apart along Greenfield Avenue. Matthew Burnside was already out on a signature bond in one case when a warrant was filed against him in the other.
According to FOX6 News Milwaukee, West Allis police responded to Cool Waters Aquatic Center after a woman reported that a man exposed himself to her and her nieces and nephews, who ranged in age from 3 to 8. Police say Burnside waved his genitals at the woman and children in the parking lot of the aquatic center, which sits inside Greenfield Park at 2028 S. 124th St. and is operated by Milwaukee County Parks, per Visit Milwaukee.
Investigators noted that Burnside had a previous run-in with West Allis police tied to the same park — he was cited in March 2025 for being naked in the women's bathroom at Greenfield Park, the station's report states. That earlier citation has drawn added scrutiny as prosecutors build the current case against him.
A Second Incident in a Brookfield Parking Lot
Days apart from the aquatic center report, Brookfield police responded to the Pick 'n Save parking lot on West Greenfield Avenue, where investigators say Burnside approached a woman and her 9-year-old child with his pants around his ankles while touching himself. The store sits at 15170 W. Greenfield Ave. in Brookfield, according to Pick 'n Save. Records show Burnside told police he works at the store and had left early that day because he did not want to go home to his parents.
Burnside denied exposing himself to the 9-year-old in the Brookfield incident, according to authorities, and said his dashboard camera captures all angles and will prove he is innocent. Police allege he exposed himself to multiple women and children in parking lots across the two incidents.
Adult Court, Even at 17
Because he is 17, Burnside faces adult charges in both Waukesha and Milwaukee counties rather than being routed through juvenile court. Wisconsin Statute § 938.02(10m) automatically treats 17-year-olds as adults for criminal prosecution in circuit court without a waiver hearing, according to the Van Severen Law Office. Wisconsin is one of a small number of states where the age of automatic adult criminal jurisdiction begins at 17, a threshold that traces back to a 1995 overhaul of the state's Juvenile Justice Code that lowered the cutoff from 18, according to Hurley Burish S.C. Repeated legislative proposals to raise the age back to 18 have not been enacted into law, per that same account.
The potential penalties vary depending on the victims involved. Exposing genitals to a child is a Class I felony under Wisconsin Statute § 948.10, punishable by up to 3.5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, though it can be reduced to a Class A misdemeanor if the actor is 18 or younger and within four years of the child's age, according to the Milwaukee Criminal Defense Attorney practice group. Exposure involving an adult, meanwhile, falls under the lewd and lascivious behavior statute, § 944.20(1)(b), a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to nine months in county jail and a $10,000 fine, per Tracey Wood & Associates.
Bond Set, Warrant Pending
In the Waukesha County case, a court commissioner set a $5,000 signature bond for Burnside's release rather than requiring cash bail. A signature bond allows a defendant to be released without paying money upfront, creating a financial obligation only if bail conditions are violated or the defendant fails to appear, according to Grieve Law. Wisconsin outlawed commercial bail bondsmen in 1979, the same source notes. During that hearing, the court commissioner said the alleged conduct was disturbing and difficult to understand, per court records.
Waukesha County correctional facility records listed Burnside as held in county jail custody as of Sunday. Separately, Milwaukee County prosecutors have filed an arrest warrant against him, and it remains unclear when his initial Milwaukee County court appearance will take place. Under Wisconsin Statute § 968.04, a circuit court judge may issue an arrest warrant or a summons when prosecutors file charges against a defendant who is out of custody, a mechanism that allows for apprehension across county lines when charges are filed in adjacent jurisdictions.
One Road Linking Two Cases
The two incidents are separated by just a few miles along the same commercial corridor. West Greenfield Avenue runs continuously from West Allis in Milwaukee County into Brookfield in Waukesha County, connecting the parking lot outside Cool Waters Aquatic Center to the Pick 'n Save where Burnside worked. That shared stretch of road is part of why police departments in both suburbs, along with prosecutors in both counties, ended up pursuing overlapping cases against the same teenager.
It remains an open question whether prosecutors in either county will pursue felony charges under § 948.10 or opt for misdemeanor reductions tied to Burnside's age, and whether the dashcam footage he says will prove his innocence will be introduced at future hearings. For now, Burnside's case moves forward on two separate tracks in adult courtrooms in Waukesha and Milwaukee counties.
