Now that spring has officially sprung, heralding much more time spent outdoors by residents, the Union County Sheriff’s Office wants to ensure that people and families can enjoy the natural beauty of the North Georgia Mountains in peace.
To this end, Sheriff Shawn Dyer has a message for those who would disrupt such enjoyment with illegal activity: keep inappropriate behavior off trails, out of parks and away from Nottely Dam.
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Last month, a 79-year-old Towns County man was arrested in Hayesville, North Carolina, for lewdly observing women and children at Lake Chatuge. And while there have been no recent arrests of that nature in Union County, Dyer said he wants to get ahead of any such activity here.
As a reminder, would-be offenders are on notice that they will be arrested if they act indecently in public, including at boat ramps, walking trails, campgrounds, Meeks Park, the Appalachian Trail, Vogel State Park, the dam and any other recreational spot.
And thanks to the inclusion of a local deputy on the FBI Task Force, Dyer said his office will pursue federal charges for people who get caught behaving lewdly in federal jurisdictions such as the dam, which is controlled by the federal Tennessee Valley Authority, and other areas.
“We’re not going to put up with it,” Dyer said. “We’re going to go for everything we can get if someone is crazy enough to pull that stuff here. Every chance we get to take a federal charge, that’s what we’re going to do.”
The sheriff said there’s another important component to this Public Service Announcement: should anyone witness someone acting inappropriately, they should say something about it.
“If you see any lewd behavior, call 911,” Dyer said, further advising people to be aware of their surroundings at all times. “And if a vehicle is involved, try to get us a tag number and description of the vehicle.
“We’ve already stepped up our patrols around these areas, and if people see anything like that, we’d like them to please report it to us, because we can’t be everywhere at once. But what time we can be there, we want to prevent anything like that from happening here.
“We’re going to be stepping up patrols big time in those areas throughout the summer.”
Dyer said he has picked up on a growing national trend of lewd behavior in recreational areas, primarily involving older adults. Such behavior can include displays of nudity, sex acts by individuals and pairings, strangers propositioning unexpecting nature-goers and more.
People should know better, of course, and the sheriff said he does not understand what exactly drives some of them to behave in this manner. But he noted it might have to do with perceptions of seclusion in nature and being “out of the public’s eye,” leading to the belief that it is OK to act in certain ways.
And it is possible that some people – like folks who meet online and are looking for a place to “hook up” – might be drawn to the Nottely Dam in particular for being a relatively remote location with easy access to the Tri-State area.
But people should keep in mind that public areas are specifically opened and designed to attract visitors of all ages, so there is always a chance of being discovered – a prospect that is especially harmful to witnessing children, with a potential result being the corruption of innocence.
Of course, there are those who know full well the consequences of their actions, like people who perpetrate criminal acts because they are predators or thrill seekers.
Regardless of suspected intent, visitors to public areas should report any lewd behavior, because a big part of staying protected is prevention, and helping the area develop a reputation as a place that does not put up with such things will lower the likelihood of this kind of activity occurring.
“We just want the public to be on the lookout for it and please let us know,” Sheriff Dyer said. “And we’re going to be out there trying to prevent any of that from happening.
“We don’t want a family getting upset or scarred over seeing something that’s inappropriate. We’re going to do our best to stop it before it happens.”
Added Dyer, “You don’t have to be afraid to go anywhere – that’s not the case. We haven’t had any reports of somebody possibly getting abducted or anything like that. We just don’t want people doing elicit acts in public that anyone could walk up on or see.”
