(Memphis) People in Raleigh are relieved a local flasher has been picked up by police, but it’s leaving some wondering what motivated the man in the first place.
Marquez Morris is just one of several people in the last few weeks accused of exposing themselves to unsuspecting bystanders, even children.
Some say flashing is not just a crime, but an addiction.
“Usually the flasher, the idea, is that they’re getting a reaction,” said Eric Cassius, a licensed counselor that works with sex offenders. “They want a reaction from the person. They want to freak somebody out.”
That’s just what’s been happening in Memphis this past month.
Recently, police arrested Morris for allegedly flashing a mother and 5-year-old girl in Raleigh after he knocked on their door.
Before that, Thomas Garner was arrested when, police say, he fondled himself in front of young children at City park near East High School.
Then, there was John Francis Smolko, someone you might least expect to be accused of exposing himself in public.
Smolko is a former chairman of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission, now accused of being the Germantown flasher.
“It doesn’t matter what you’re standing is, we are all human and we all sexual urges and different people do different things,” said Cassius.
The sex addiction counselor says most flashers are harmless and won’t get more aggressive.
He says the ones that are more dangerous are those who flash children in private settings.
However, with any addiction flashers can cross the line, “You always trying to up it a little bit.”
Cassius, who works with these types of offenders, says the best thing you can do if you are ever “exposed” to one of these thrill seekers, is not give them what they want.
“Overreaction is not necessarily the best thing. They are looking for the overreaction. They want the overreaction because you scream and yell and ‘oh my god’ and all these things. What happens is that is the exact reaction he wants to get at that point. However you don’t indulge them either. You walk away.”
Walk away, and call police.
The accused Germantown flasher is a also reportedly a former Ducks Unlimited official and currently an owner of an all-terrain vehicle store on Whitten road.
Smolko’s next court date is October 23 .
