An East Millcreek man with a history of dropping his pants and showing children a cartoon-character diaper is at it again.
Barton Jason Lewis Bagnes, 31, walked by a driveway on Tuesday where two 4-year-olds and a 6-year-old were playing, according to Salt Lake County Sheriff spokesman Lt. Don Hutson.
Bagnes asked the children if they wanted to see his diaper, then dropped his pants and showed them a toddler diaper with the Sesame Street character Elmo printed on the outside. His diaper was fastened together with duct tape or other adhesives since it did not quite fit him, Hutson said.
One of the children told his mother of the incident the following day, and she called police.
The Sheriff's Office does not plan to arrest Bagnes, and the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office is unsure whether they'll have a case against him. Similar past cases against Bagnes have been dismissed -- usually because he does not show any genitalia or further bother the children.
"There has been no behavior on his part to suggest that he has any intention of hurting anybody or engaging in any sort of sexual behavior associated with children," Hutson said, adding that Bagnes has offered no rational explanation as to why he exposes his diaper to kids.
"It appears relatively harmless at this point," Hutson said. "Even though it certainly is shocking and of concern to law enforcement and the neighborhood in general."
The Sheriff's Office received three reports of Bagnes exposing his diapers to children in 2008, including an incident during which he exposed his diaper to a young girl at the East Millcreek Recreation Center at 2230 E. Evergreen Ave. (3435 South).
They nabbed Bagnes back in 1999 for a similar diaper- exposure incident. In that case, he was charged and pleaded guilty to one third-degree felony count and one class A misdemeanor count of lewdness involving a child, landing him on the sex-offender registry. Hutson said it was unclear what made that case so different from the recent charges that have been dismissed.
Alicia Cook, spokeswoman with the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, said prosecutors have not yet seen the latest Bagnes file, but she said they will not be more reluctant to file charges simply because they have been dismissed in the past.
"We have to take any case on its facts," she said. "A slightly different fact could take this case over the line. This is something that concerns us, and we will certainly take a careful look at it. It's not something we'll just brush aside."
In the meantime, Hutson advised parents to report any further incidents so authorities can ensure Bagnes is not "crossing any lines" with his behavior.
