Placentia man previously convicted of indecent exposure pleads not guilty to touching in view of public, police in Orange

A 29-year-old Placentia man who twice was convicted of indecent exposure in 2017 was back behind bars Wednesday, March 6, on charges of doing so again, this time in front of a police officer in the city of Orange.

Juan Carlos Ortiz on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to a felony count of indecent exposure with a prior conviction, as well as single misdemeanor counts each of lewd conduct in a public place and public intoxication. He remains in custody in lieu of $27,500 bail pending a March 13 pretrial hearing at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.

Police were called to a residence in the 100 block of north Woodridge Circle about 7:40 p.m. Oct. 22 on a report that a man was on the front lawn reading a magazine and refusing to leave, said Sgt. Phil McMullin of the Orange Police Department.

He was gone when they arrived, but an officer later encountered him at Chapman and Manchester avenues, McMullin said. Ortiz had his pants and underwear down and was touching himself while looking at a magazine, McMullin alleged.

Ortiz pleaded guilty on Oct. 26, 2017, to a felony count of indecent exposure stemming from his arrest in Anaheim the previous month, according to court records which show he accepted a plea deal from an Orange County Superior Court judge and was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Ortiz also pleaded guilty on Sept. 5, 2017, to a misdemeanor count of indecent exposure and was sentenced to 100 days in jail and placed on three years of informal probation, court records show.