OCEAN CITY – Law enforcement charged Cecil County State’s Attorney Edward D. Rollins III with indecent exposure following an incident in Ocean City last week.
Rollins, 60, has been charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct following incidents June 21 and 22 at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau in Ocean City.
“After consultation with the Ocean City Police Department, two counts of indecent exposure and two counts of disorderly conduct have been filed,” Worcester County State’s Attorney Beau Oglesby said Monday. “After carefully considering which course of action would be the most appropriate given the need to handle this matter with transparency balanced against the desire to shield the identities of the victims, filing a criminal information achieved both of those goals.”
According to the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD), officers responded to the Clarion at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 22 for a report of a nude male on a balcony.
“Officers located the room in question and ultimately took Edward D. Rollins, III of North East, Md., into custody for disorderly conduct and indecent exposure,” OCPD spokesperson Lindsay Richard said. “Officers consulted with Worcester County State’s Attorney Beau Oglesby and were advised to release Rollins without charges pending further investigation.”
Charges against the Cecil County attorney came Monday.
According to court documents, Rollins “did indecently expose his person in a public place … the area between the Atlantic Condominiums and the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel…” The documents list one count of indecent exposure and one count of disturbing the peace on June 21 and then another count of each on June 22.
The Cecil Whig reported that Rollins maintained his innocence and said that Oglesby filed the charges based on one side of the story.
“He has not heard my side of the story,” Rollins told the paper. “I am confident that when that happens, my name will be cleared.”
His statement came a day after his wife told The Cecil Whig that while she and her husband stayed at the Clarion, someone in an adjacent hotel photographed them.
“While my husband and I were vacationing in Ocean City last week, a stranger watched and photographed us through the window of our 10th floor hotel room,” her statement read. “The person who took these actions was in a separate hotel some distance from ours. During the next 24 hours, while completely within the confines of our room, our intimate movements and activities were documented and shared publicly.”
Oglesby said a summons would be issued for Rollins to appear in Worcester County Circuit Court within 30 days for an initial appearance. Indecent exposure is a misdemeanor and can result in three years in jail and or a $1,000 fine. Disorderly conduct, also a misdemeanor, can result in 60 days incarceration and or a $500 fine.
Rollins, a longtime attorney, was elected as Cecil County State’s Attorney in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. The charges against him come just as he was being considered for a Cecil County Circuit Court judgeship.
