At a May game at Rangers Ballpark, a former registered sex offender with a criminal history of exposing himself flitted in and out of men's restrooms.
An off-duty Arlington police officer working security checked out a complaint that the man was watching boys at urinals in restrooms on the main concourse level.The officer stopped the man and, while questioning him, found sexually explicit images of boys on his cellphone, according to a federal criminal complaint.The images led to federal and state cases against Michael Allen Manske, 48, of Hubbard.In federal court, he faces a charge of possession of child pornography. He has not been indicted. His federal public defender, William Hermesmeyer, was out of the office Tuesday.In addition, the Tarrant County district attorney's office has charged Manske with taking improper visual images about a year ago -- photos also found on the phone, Arlington police said. The charge is a state jail felony.No attorney is listed for Manske in the Tarrant case.Manske did not photograph boys in the ballpark restrooms, said Tiara Richard, an Arlington police spokeswoman.Suspicious behaviorIn May, someone approached an Arlington officer working a part-time security job at the ballpark and complained about Manske. The officer began watching him and reported that he observed Manske enter a restroom, blow his nose and remain there for several minutes. The officer then saw Manske walk over to another men's restroom. The officer stopped him.Richard said Manske told the officer that "he is attracted to young boys."Manske was asked whether he had ever been arrested. He told the officer that he had twice been taken into custody for indecent exposure. A computer check revealed a traffic warrant and Manske was arrested.As the officer searched Manske, he found the phone and saw "images that depicted nude minors."Three of the images depicted minors engaged in sexual conduct, according to the federal complaint. One showed a nude prepubescent male's genitals.Criminal recordTexas Department of Public Safety and Tarrant County court records show that Manske has repeatedly broken the law.In 1994, he was arrested in Waco on a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure. DPS records show he pleaded guilty and received six months' deferred-adjudication probation.In 2005, Southlake police arrested him on a misdemeanor criminal trespass complaint. He was sentenced to 15 days in jail, according to Tarrant County court records.In 2009, Fort Worth police arrested Manske for a misdemeanor indecent exposure offense, court records show. In 2010, DPS records show, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 24 months' probation for the offense. He was required to register as a sex offender. He was discharged from probation in February.On July 18, Manske was arrested by the Hill County Sheriff's Department on three Arlington warrants for improper photography related to images on the phone, Richard said. Those photos were of clothed boys.Considering his sex offender registration, attraction to boys and possession of the photos for about a year, police believe "that he was maintaining the photos for sexual gratification," Richard said.On July 19, the district attorney's office charged Manske with improper photo/visual recording, according to court records and police officials. The charge does not require nudity in the photos. A Tarrant prosecutor said he could not comment on the case.Richard said that parents should be vigilant and that someone at the ballpark did the right thing by speaking to the officer."At any public place, in any public restroom, people should be cautious of the children who are there. If something looks odd or suspicious, definitely contact law enforcement and let them know. That's no matter where you go," she said.As of January 2011, Manske was employed as a ranch foreman in Hubbard.Despite his criminal history, from 1995 until 2008, Manske received a total of at least $103,066 from the U.S. Agriculture Department in farm subsidies, according to the Environmental Working Group's database.Darren Barbee, 817-390-7126Twitter: @DarrenBarbeeHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
