SALEM — A Melrose man who was already a Level 3 sex offender due to a history of similar offenses was found guilty Thursday on a charge of open and gross lewdness.
Tyler Jacquard, 36, was taken into custody following the verdict Thursday morning in Salem Superior Court. He faces sentencing on June 3.
Jacquard was arrested in June 2020, two days after a woman pulled into a parking space next to Jacquard’s car at the Lynnfield Market Street shopping area and saw him masturbating.
The woman, who had her 1-year-old in the car, got out and began filming the car, yelling at him to leave, she testified Wednesday. She called police, who were able to identify Jacquard after seeing video of his license plate.
He was found two days later in a Walmart parking lot in North Reading.
Jacquard was familiar to police, due to his history of similar conduct, as well as two higher-profile arrests that did not result in convictions, in which he was accused of peering into dorm rooms at Wellesley College and Endicott College.
His case also gained notoriety when the Massachusetts Bail Fund, a nonprofit that posts bail for indigent individuals unable to afford bail on their own, posted Jacquard’s $30,000 bail in the case. It was one of several high cash bails posted by the organization in cases involving sex offenses and violence that summer.
Salem Superior Court Judge Helene Kazanjian revoked Jacquard’s bail following the verdict and ordered him into custody.
Jacquard’s defense lawyer, Kristen Graves, has filed a motion seeking to stay any sentence for Jacquard pending an appeal, according to the docket.
The case took an unexpected turn on Wednesday when it became apparent that Graves was hoping to convince jurors that Jacquard didn’t realize that masturbating in a public parking lot put him at risk of being seen and arrested.
Prosecutor Lindsay Nasson was then allowed to call a retired police officer who had encountered Jacquard engaging in similar conduct in Wakefield in 2013.
Graves had opposed the testimony, saying it was prejudicial.
Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis
