Sex Offender Picks Worst Place To Offend Again

SEPTEMBER 20--A Seattle man who was waiting to register as a sex offender began masturbating in the lobby of a county office building, according to cops who arrested him--again--for lewd behavior.

Anthony Hardison, 50, was convicted in mid-July on two counts of indecent exposure with sexual motivation. Hardison, seen at right, admitted exposing himself to municipal bus drivers.

As a result of Hardison’s August 5 sentencing, he was required to register as a sex offender. So, on August 12, Hardison went to the King County Administration Building--which houses the sheriff’s office--to file the required paperwork.

As detailed in a police report, a sheriff’s employee spotted Hardison standing at a desk area "and repeatedly turning his head back to look at her." The civilian worker told cops that Hardison had his back to her while he was "moving his hips and his arm in an odd fashion."

Believing that Hardison was "masturbating or touching his penis," the "alarmed and offended" employee verbally confronted the sex offender, who "stopped what he was doing and completed his required paperwork and left the area."

After the woman contacted her supervisor, a detective was assigned to investigate the incident. "Video evidence was reviewed and it confirmed that Hardison had been masturbating in the lobby," cops noted.

According to court records, Hardison was arrested for felony indecent exposure. He is being held in the Seattle Correctional Facility in lieu of $145,000 bail.

The King County Sheriff’s Office categorizes Hardison as a level 3 sex offender, the highest-risk designation.