Dapper Diaper Dude Arrested

[+ Lucky]

Okay, which of you fetush guys here can top this one:

 

10/01/04 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom

Man wearing diaper faces new charges

 

Kinnelon court officials say he appeared there in July similarly attired

 

By Peggy Wright, Daily Record

 

A 53-year-old widower who was put on probation in June for showing up at an elementary school wearing feces-soaked pink tights is now charged with harassment.

 

The latest charge comes after he allegedly showed up at Kinnelon Municipal Court wearing sparkly pink leggings over a diaper and defecated in front of a court employee.

 

On an unrelated charge, William Rhode III is being held on $100,000 bail in the Passaic County jail for failing to register with police in July and August as a convicted sex offender under Megan's Law. Several years ago, Rhode was convicted of sexual contact and is obligated to comply with Megan's Law.

He was put on probation for five years and ordered to undergo counseling. The sentencing judge warned him not to go anywhere near facilities where children are present and said he ran the risk of people suspecting he was sexually aroused by wearing a soiled diaper and reporting him to police.

 

Rhode was charged in Passaic County on July 23 with failing to register his address with police. He was released after spending a few days in jail. On July 28, he showed up at Kinnelon Municipal Court in the afternoon to make arrangements for a public defender to represent him on outstanding motor vehicle complaints. He wore pink, sparkly leggings with a diaper underneath and defecated while engaging in a conversation with a court worker, Kinnelon Detective Sgt. John Schwartz said.

 

Schwartz said that several police officers had observed Rhode going into municipal court and were familiar with his background. Rhode left the building -- the soiled diaper apparent under his leggings -- and Schwartz interviewed the worker and ultimately signed a complaint charging Rhode with harassment while on probation, an offense punishable upon conviction of up to 18 months in prison.

 

Rhode landed back in the Passaic County jail on Aug. 6 -- where he remained as of Thursday -- when he again failed to register his address with police under Megan's Law. He last lived in Paterson but authorities said he no longer is there and they have no clear idea where he is staying.

 

Joseph Del Russo, an assistant Passaic County prosecutor and chief of the office's sex crimes unit, said that although Rhode has serious problems, he is not considered committable to a psychiatric institution.

 

"He's certainly not violent and he's come back repeatedly as not committable," Del Russo said.

 

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Catherine Broderick had wanted Rhode prosecuted under child endangerment statutes when he was showing up at day-care centers and schools. But she acknowledged, when he pleaded to disrupting a meeting, that the state's goal of ensuring Rhode received counseling and was supervised for a lengthy period of time, was met.