Karate studio owner charged with indecent exposure

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BY CARA PESEK / Lincoln Journal Star

A Lincoln karate instructor has been charged with two counts of indecent exposure in Thayer County.

Timothy Snyder, 51, 12909 S. 110th St., Roca, was charged with exposing himself to Thayer County motorists on April 1 and May 7, said Thayer County Attorney Daniel Werner.

Each count carries a maximum punishment of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, Werner said.

Snyder was cited with indecent exposure July 13 when Thayer County Sheriff David Lee pulled him over for driving a car without license plates.

As Lee approached Snyder's Ford Taurus, he noticed Snyder wasn't fully clothed, Lee said.

He also noticed Snyder had been driving on a stretch of road where several women had said they had seen a man exposing himself, Lee said.

Snyder owns the Okinawan Karate and Fitness Center at 5900 S. 58th St.

Southeast Nebraska has had what Lee described as a "phantom flasher" for about two years now, Lee said.

Women in Fillmore, Nuckolls, Clay, Jefferson, Saline and Gage counties have reported seeing a man wearing a ski mask expose himself as they drove past, Lee said.

Several women in northern Kansas counties have also reported seeing a masked man, he said.

Often, Lee said, the flasher would pass lone female motorists as they drove on secluded roads. He would then pull over, get out of his car, don a ski mask and expose himself to the women as they drove past.

"It started to be a real concern," Lee said.

Lee said that on the day Snyder was cited in Thayer County, someone matching his description had also reportedly flashed a woman in Clay County.

Snyder, when reached at the karate center, said his arrest hadn't affected business.

"There have been no issues," he said.

Snyder said he would enter a plea of not guilty at his arraignment, which will be Sept. 10 at the Thayer County Courthouse in Hebron, but declined to comment further.

"We made a plea of innocent to that charge, and that's all that's come of it," Snyder said.

Snyder's lawyer, John Ball of Lincoln, was unavailable for comment Monday afternoon.

Reach Cara Pesek at 473-7361 or cpesek@journalstar.com.