*Original Article from Nonstop Local, updated on august 25
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — A Lewiston Police Department officer was arrested for indecent exposure alongside three others at a hotel in Coeur d’Alene earlier this month.
According to court documents, Richard Fuentes, 49, was among four adults arrested at the Quality Inn on Appleway Avenue after they allegedly swam in the hotel’s pool while naked on Aug. 19, exposing themselves to multiple children.
Court documents show Fuentes is an employee of the city of Lewiston. The city of Lewiston’s human resources department confirmed via email that the city only employs one Richard Fuentes, and he works for the police department.
A hotel worker confronted the four at the pool, according to court documents, but they refused to put clothes back on. She didn’t initially call police because “she believed she could ask them to put their clothes back on and return to their room,” court documents said.
But one of the suspects began arguing with her, claiming there was “no law that applies to the hotel,” ultimately causing her to call police.
An officer with the Coeur d’Alene Police Department responded to the call and interviewed four minors who saw two of the accused adults.
One of the children, a 14-year-old girl, told the officer she saw two of them having sex.
The children left the pool initially, returning five minutes later to find the adults were still naked, at which point they called hotel staff, according to court documents.
When the officer confronted the four in their hotel room, one of the men didn’t deny the incident, but rather deflected blame to the children, according to court documents. He argued the rules on the door of the pool said no minors should be allowed in the pool at the time.
“Throughout the entire interaction (the suspect) appeared more concerned with the fact that juveniles were in the pool area than with the fact juveniles were subject to the nudity and inappropriate behavior of adults in an area in which kids and other guests should be expected,” the officer testified in an affidavit of facts.
Court documents state there is body camera evidence to support the charges, however the video includes “protected personal information.”
Fuentes and the others were booked in the Kootenai County Jail on charges of indecent exposure. Fuentes posted $300 bond, and he pleaded not guilty on Thursday. He’s scheduled back in court in October.
