Laver
2/1/24
A wanted suspect accused of pleasuring himself inside the Iowa City Public Library is back in custody…and he’s been charged for a second public masturbation incident.
55-year-old Michael Beaver of West Branch was booked into the Johnson County Jail just before 4:45 Wednesday afternoon. Iowa City Police say Beaver entered the library last April, placed a jacket over his genitals, and viewed pornographic videos for approximately four hours while masturbating under the jacket.
Court records indicate Beaver skipped a case management conference in the case last summer.
Beaver has now also been charged for a May 24th incident on the Ped Mall. Police say he was sitting on a bench just outside the library around 9:00 that morning when he began watching pornographic videos on a mobile device. Witnesses say Beaver was reaching under his coat…which he had placed over his lap…and quickly moving his hand up-and-down. Those watching from inside the library through a window say they recognized him from the previous masturbation incident.
Beaver now faces two charges of Indecent Exposure. If convicted on both counts, he faces a maximum of two years in jail.