TAYLOR, Mich. (WXYZ) – The community of Taylor is concerned and on high alert after police say a man wearing nothing but white boxer shorts approached a 12-year-old boy in Boardman Park and ordered him to expose himself.

Taylor police said the incident occurred at around 7:30 p.m. Monday at the park near Haskell Road and Burr Street. A white, heavyset man described as about 60 years old, 5’8″ tall with short light hair approached the boy, who was playing with friends, but remained alone for a moment.

“The child reported that the man approached him and asked him to show him his genitals in exchange for being able to take a look at his genitals,” Said Detective Lieutenant Frank Canning of the Taylor Police.

The child did not react and escaped.

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“Fortunately, nothing physical happened and he did the right thing by going home and reporting what happened,” Detective Lt. Canning said.

Mark Harshberger has lived in the area for 60 years and says the park is a popular destination for children. He is shocked and disgusted by what happened just steps from his home.

“It’s almost unbelievable, especially for this park,” he said. “The surprising thing is that in all my time here I have never seen or heard anything like this before.”

The park is also popular with disc golfers like Nate Munk, who often visits with his young son.

“Normally it’s pretty quiet here, not too many people, so it’s pretty disturbing when someone does something like this here,” he added.

The City of Taylor has installed cameras in several parks throughout the city, such as Heritage Park, but not where the incident occurred, so the suspect was not caught on camera. The city plans to install more cameras in parks soon.

Taylor Police have placed additional surveillance on this area.

The suspect was last seen on a gray bicycle. Be sure to call the police if you notice anything suspicious.

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