Residents in Joliet are concerned about a man who has allegedly exposed himself in public multiple times and was recently released from jail.
The man, 66-year-old Frederick Accordino, was arrested by the Carbon County Sheriff's Office in April after allegedly being caught exposing himself on a surveillance video at the 212 Bar and Grill.
According to court documents, Accordino is also accused of exposing himself to three different 10- and 11-year-old girls on the Joliet school playground just a few days before the incident at the 212 Bar and Grill.
The man was recently released from jail after posting bond. He faces three felony charges for the playground incident and two misdemeanors for the incident at the bar, and the investigation is still ongoing. It was unclear from the documents if he has appeared in court or entered a plea.
For the town, which has a population of 609, it's been a frightening experience that's left many rattled.
"It's a small community and everyone kind of talks," said 212 Bar and Grill owner Hal Ward. "You don't think like something like that is going to happen. The whole thing is just disgusting."
Ward said that when he first saw the video of Accordino exposing himself to 212 employees, he was shocked.
"When I went to watch the video, I was like, 'Oh my god,'" Ward said. "This really just happened."
His original emotions quickly shifted to anger for his female employees. Ward confirmed that one of his employees involved was a high school girl.
"Being a male, I didn't realize the effect it would have on a young, female girl like that," Ward said. "It really traumatized the poor girl."
Fellow Joliet resident and mother of three Emilee Cherry said it's unsettling to hear about the incident happening near the school.
"It makes my blood boil that I can't keep my children safe in my own town," Cherry said. "I cannot let my kids go to the park two blocks away because they come running home terrified of this man."
Accordino lives right next to the school, so Cherry and other parents are stuck with one scary thought in mind.
"When they are at school, he's closer to them than I am," Cherry said.
Cherry said it's shook the entire community, and while there's only two instances on the court documents, she believes nearly everyone has had a weird encounter with Accordino.
"The more people I talk with, the more stories I hear," Cherry said. "He just is creepy. He's creeping."
According to an affidavit from Carbon County Attorney Alex Nixon, Accordino told a sheriff's deputy following the encounter at the 212 that memory loss was to blame for his behavior.
“Obviously I’m doing something and I’ll have to stop. I obviously, I do it without thinking about it and that’s the bad part. That’s what the problem is," he said, according to the affidavit.
Accordino could not be found for comment by MTN News.
When residents discovered that Accordino was no longer in custody over the weekend, it generated increased concern.
"Everyone is afraid something is going to happen," Cherry said. "And it is. It's going to happen. That's the scary part."
"The guy shouldn't be out roaming around next to the school," Ward said.
