Twelve men were arrested by Delaware police last month at a gay-male cruising area about 3 miles northwest of Rehoboth Beach.
The arrests took place in a section of Cape Henlopen State Park known as Wolfe Neck, according to a statement issued by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
The men were charged with violations such as criminal solicitation, offensive touching, lewdness, indecent exposure and loitering to engage in or solicit sex, according to the statement.
John F. Brady, an attorney for two of the men, said authorities are continuing to engage in undercover sting operations in the area.
“My advice to the LGBT community is to avoid public places such as Wolfe Neck when looking for love this summer,” Brady told PGN. “My understanding is there will be more stings. I will monitor the situation.”
Brady gave his perspective of the arrests, which he said occurred in mid-July.
“There were people complaining about men being at Wolfe Neck, loitering. Apparently, it’s also on an Internet site where you can pick up people. So the park police decided to set up a sting operation.”
Brady expressed concern that some of the arrests resulted from entrapment.
“All 12 of the men are facing significant fines and possible prison time,” Brady added. “The most they were guilty of was suggestive language, to my understanding. Unfortunately, that could be enough evidence to convict. One or two may have touched their pants near their genitals, which could have been suggestive in nature. And one gentleman may have actually touched an undercover officer, perhaps on the shoulder.”
Brady hasn’t seen any evidence of sexual contact between the defendants, nor between the defendants and the undercover officers.
“To my knowledge, all were charged because of their interactions with the undercover police officers, and no sexual activity occurred with those police officers,” he said.
One of the defendants also was cited for not having his dog on a leash, Brady added.
The attorney said prior complaints from the public contributed to the arrests.
“Because these men were in a public open space where there had been previous complaints about lewd behavior, these arrests occurred,” Brady said. “The sting operation was a direct result of the public complaints.”
He said some of the defendants may be eligible for a diversionary program.
“Delaware law provides for a diversionary program that hopefully some of these gentlemen will be able to enter,” Brady continued. “Once successfully completed, their records can be expunged.”
He said authorities released the defendants’ names in a news release, but only one media outlet published them.
“This [sting] operation is a response to a serious and longstanding problem with lewd and indecent public behavior at Wolfe Neck,” said Parks and Recreation Natural Resources Police Chief Wayne Kline. “Such behavior will not be tolerated in a public area within a Delaware state park. Every arrest that we’ve made and may make as this enforcement-operation continues will reiterate that we are committed to eliminating this problem in a public area.”