A Gainesville man was arrested after stalking a woman and masturbating in front of her house Wednesday morning.
Benjamin Franklin Cunningham, 25, was arrested at about 9 a.m. and charged with trespass after warning, stalking and exposure of sexual organs. Cunningham had been harassing and following the victim and her son since November of last year, said Gainesville Police spokesman Officer Ben Tobias.
On Tuesday, Cunningham approached the victim as she was going inside her apartment. When the victim looked out the peephole, she saw Cunningham masturbating while staring at her door. The victim then opened the door.
“Come help me,” he said.
Tobias said the victim did not tell police about the masturbation incident out of fear of Cunningham. Instead, she notified her apartment manager.
After she dropped her son off at school Wednesday morning, she arrived to her apartment to find Cunningham waiting for her outside. He insisted that they talk privately about the incident.
Ignoring the victim’s request to leave her alone, Cunningham followed and yelled at her.
Cunningham was then arrested for being on the property Wednesday.
[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 9/5/2014 under the headline "Local man arrested, charged with stalking"]
