A 23-year-old man is facing charges after St. Petersburg police say he exposed himself to multiple women inside a local Walmart, with the entire episode caught on the store's surveillance cameras. Eric Ruffin was arrested and booked into the Pinellas County Jail without bond following the incidents at the retailer's 34th Street North location.
According to Tampa Bay 28, the St. Petersburg Police Department charged Ruffin with exposure of sexual organs after he allegedly entered the Walmart at 3501 34th St. N. and raised his shorts to expose himself to several women inside the store. Police said Ruffin arrived at the scene in a Mercedes-Benz sedan, and the vehicle's registered owner later told investigators that Ruffin had been the one driving it.
The incidents were captured on surveillance video, the report notes, giving investigators documented evidence to support the charge. Ruffin had also been arrested once before, in January, for an exposure incident in neighboring Hillsborough County.
Second Such Arrest in the Area This Year
Ruffin's arrest isn't an isolated case for the St. Petersburg area. Earlier this year, 40-year-old Nathan Aleman was arrested after a park visitor reported seeing him expose himself at Sawgrass Lake Park, according to Fox 13 News. That incident reportedly happened shortly after 5 p.m. at 7400 25th St. N. in St. Petersburg, and Aleman told deputies he had exposed himself while creating adult content for OnlyFans. He, too, was booked into the Pinellas County jail.
Both cases fall under the same section of Florida law. Under Florida Statute 800.03, unlawful exposure of sexual organs covers exposing or exhibiting one's sexual organs in public, or on someone else's private property, in a vulgar or indecent manner, as well as being naked in public in a vulgar or indecent way. The statute does carve out exceptions, noting that breastfeeding and being naked in a place set apart for that purpose do not count as violations.
How Florida Classifies the Charge
Under the same statute, a first violation of the unlawful-exposure law is generally treated as a first-degree misdemeanor, while a second or subsequent violation can be elevated to a third-degree felony.
Ruffin remained held without bond at the Pinellas County Jail following his booking, per the Tampa Bay 28 report. No additional details on a court date, legal representation, or formal case disposition were available at the time of reporting.
