A Republican candidate running for the Maricopa County, Arizona, college district’s governing board was arrested on a charge of public sexual indecency after an officer caught him masturbating in his truck near a preschool, local NBC affiliate 12-News reported Wednesday.
According to the station, Randy Kaufman suspended his campaign Tuesday following media reports of his arrest, which took place on Oct. 4.
“I fucked up,” Kaufman reportedly told the officer during his arrest, according to a police report.
Authorities the incident began when an officer with the Maricopa County Community Colleges Police approached Kaufman’s parked vehicle and saw the man with his pants down.
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“[Kaufman] appeared to be looking at a cell phone in one hand,” the police report said. “I immediately became alarmed as I saw [Kaufman] had his pants down mid-thigh and was exposed showing his fully erect nude penis. He was manipulating his genitals in a masturbatory manner.”
The officer said Kaufman didn’t seem to notice the officer at first, but that Kaufman was in view of a nearby bicyclist and a preschool where children were playing outside.
Despite the charge, the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office said it’s too late for Kaufman’s name to be removed from the ballot, and some people have already voted early.
Kaufman did not respond to a request for comment.
