Belmont man charged with indecent exposure at town beach

BELMONT — A 62-year-old local man is facing a charge of indecent exposure and lewdness after his arrest on Friday at the town beach on Lake Winnisquam.

After his arrest, Merrill Fitts was released on $2,000 personal recognizance bail and ordered to appear in 4th Circuit Count in Laconia on April 19. The charge pending against him is a Class B felony.

According to a police report, authorities received a call at about 2:30 p.m. that an older male was acting suspiciously at the town beach. Conservation officer Mike Eastman was in the area and he responded to allegedly find Fitts, seated in his car, "touching himself inappropriately." He was arrested when police arrived on the scene.

Police did not indicate whether there was another person in or near Fitt's car at the time he was observed by Eastman. State law, however, raises indecent exposure to a felony level if the act if conducted in the presence of a child who is less than 16 years of age, or if the alleged perpetrator has been convicted of a previous similar offense at the misdemeanor level.