Seattle’s ‘I-5 Flasher’ arrested again for public indecency while driving in Oregon

A man with a history of public indecency in Washington was arrested again last week for “pleasuring himself” while driving on I-5 in Oregon.

Oregon State Police responded to the reports on March 18 as the man was driving on I-5 near the Woodburn Exit, according to court documents obtained by KATU 2.

A woman reported that the suspect’s vehicle stood out because it displayed a Seahawks emblem and a University of Washington emblem near the license plate. The woman said she drove past the car and saw the man holding a cellphone that had a naked woman on it.

Seattle’s ‘I-5 Flasher’ arrested in Oregon for public indecency

Troopers were informed that the driver, identified as 56-year-old Charles MacDonald Porter, had driven alongside the woman, rolled down his window, and openly masturbated within her view.

A trooper later initiated a traffic stop with Porter. Porter consented to a search of his phone, which led the trooper to find an image of a naked woman.

Porter was arraigned on March 19 on a charge of public indecency and posted bail. An additional court hearing is scheduled for Thursday. The charge was upgraded to a felony due to his history of similar crimes, including flashing commuters on I-5 in Washington.

A Washington Department of Corrections spokesperson confirmed that Porter was on probation between May 2010 and May 2012 for indecent exposure. At the time of his arrest in 2010 out of Snohomish County, Porter was known in the area as the “I-5 Flasher.”

Records also reveal that Porter had additional indecent exposure convictions in Texas in 1999 and 2000, with one instance involving a child.

‘I-5 Flasher’ previously arrested in Seattle

In July 2010, Porter was arrested for investigation of indecent exposure after he stalked two women on the freeway, exposing himself to them and making gestures attempting to get them to expose themselves too, according to The Everett Herald.

The two women told officers that a man was driving in a blue Infiniti G35 and pulled up alongside their vehicles as they drove north on I-5. The man caught their attention, made lewd gestures, and masturbated, according to court documents.

The first woman reported Porter to the police on July 13, 2010 after she was driving to her job in Seattle and he drove up beside her while holding a pornographic magazine on the steering wheel, and rolled down his window to stare at her. Porter then exposed himself and masturbated.

She explained to officers that similar incidents on the freeway had happened with the same man three to four other times. She said that he usually followed her on Mondays and would try to capture a photo of him the next time.

The second woman told officers of a similar incident that happened that same day. She was driving to work on I-5 near Lynnwood when a car pulled up alongside her Honda. The man was masturbating, and she recognized him from similar incidents roughly two months before.

The women claimed the incident occurred multiple times while they were commuting to work between March and July of 2010. The recurring incidents led one woman to ask her fiancé to follow her to work, and the other to add 30 minutes to her commute to avoid Porter.

One woman who encountered the man several times eventually referred to him as “The Infiniti masturbator,” according to court documents.

The first woman, with her fiancé following behind on her way to work, came across Porter on I-5 again. The woman held up her phone, dialed 911, and Porter promptly exited the freeway. The woman’s fiancé continued to follow him until Seattle Police made a stop and arrested him.

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