A 54-year-old homeless man was arrested and tentatively charged with causing a child to view or listen to sexual activity after exposing himself to an 11-year-old girl at East Washington Laundry Friday.

According to Joel DeSpain, spokesperson for the Madison Police Department, suspect Napoleon Hamilton was trying to make conversation with the young girl and her mother while they were doing laundry Friday night.

When the young girl’s mother turned her back to fold clothes, Hamilton allegedly exposed his genitals and fondled himself in front of the girl, DeSpain said.

Angela Dorn, manager of East Washington Laundry, said she was present at the time of the incident. She added she never saw the suspect in the laundromat before. Although he was disturbing the woman and her child, Dorn said she could not remove him from the vicinity because he was a paying customer.

Dorn said she was filing papers in a back room when the suspect exposed himself. She learned of the situation when she overheard the victim’s mother calling the police.

Additionally, Dorn said she found empty beer cans in the restroom that she believed were consumed by the suspect. She was not aware that he was intoxicated while he was in the establishment.

“I didn’t know he was drinking. I couldn’t kick him out; he was doing laundry,” Dorn said.

Hamilton fled the scene but was found on foot on East Washington Avenue, DeSpain noted.

He added Hamilton’s preliminary blood alcohol level was .193, and when officers accosted him, he was slurring his words and smelled of intoxicants.

He was taken to the Dane County Jail.

According to the criminal complaint, Hamilton is not allowed to have any direct or indirect contact with the victim and is prohibited from the 2600 block of East Washington Avenue. The case is still pending.

“The situation left the 11-year-old girl feeling scared and violated,” DeSpain said.

An exposure has never occurred at the laundromat before, Dorn said. However, DeSpain added there are “groupings of exposures on campus” aimed at college students.

Affiliated Laundries, the establishment that owns East Washington Laundry, apologized to the family for the incident, Dorn said. She added the mother was given a certificate for a “free wash” and the little girl was given candy.