St. Charles alderman faced indecency complaint in 2008

St. Charles Alderman David Richards was the subject of a public indecency complaint in May 2008 - two years before he was arrested on allegations he exposed himself in West Chicago, according to police records obtained by the Daily Herald.

Richards was questioned but not charged May 21, 2008, after a motorist called St. Charles police to report a driver exposing himself in traffic. Police said the witness declined to press charges, and Richards was fully clothed when an officer stopped his car.

In an interview, Richards described the incident as "ridiculous." He said the caller was either mistaken or seeking revenge in a fit of road rage.

"I categorically deny anything happened," he said. "There was nothing to this. That's apparent because there was no action."

Calls to resignRichards, a 5th Ward city council member since 2001, has been asked to resign by Mayor Don DeWitte on multiple occasions since his July 21 arrest on allegations he exposed himself while driving on Route 64 in West Chicago. In that case, Richards admitted to police that he briefly exposed himself in westbound traffic, according to a police report. But he denied a truck driver's claim that he was inappropriately touching himself in plain view. Now Richards and his attorney are seeking to have those statements suppressed by a DuPage County judge. The maximum penalty he faces if convicted of misdemeanor disorderly conduct is a $1,000 fine. "My intention is to continue to serve my constituents and the city of St. Charles the best way I know how, for my ward and the community at large, as I have done for more than nine years," Richards said.Prior incidentNo police report was taken in the May 2008 incident. But a dispatch log obtained under the Freedom of Information Act identifies Richards' license plate number and the date, time and location of a public indecency complaint. St. Charles city officials withheld the name of the witness. By Richards' account, "It was quite a stupid thing that happened." He said he was talking on a cell phone and distracted when he inadvertently pulled his red Dodge Stratus out in front of a westbound semitrailer truck on East Main Street (Route 64) in St. Charles. He said the truck driver honked, and he "kind of waved an apology." "By the time I got to my office in downtown St. Charles, the officer followed me into the parking lot and said there had been a call of somebody driving around with no pants on," Richards said. "Obviously, that was not me. It was a misidentification of my car or somebody putting in a call to create some havoc."St. Charles Police Chief Jim Lamkin said no police report was prepared because Richards was fully clothed when an officer stopped him, and the witness did not cooperate in the investigation beyond phoning in the alderman's license plate number at 2:46 p.m."There's a significant difference between the current report (in West Chicago) and what we had in 2008," he said. "We really didn't have a complainant; we really didn't have an offense. There was no evidence of public indecency."Mayor respondsDeWitte said Lamkin notified the city administrator's office of the incident, but there was "no need" for further action. That's not the case now, he said. "I have suggested several times to Alderman Richards that regardless of the outcome of this incident in West Chicago, in my opinion, it would be in his best interest to deal with this issue outside of his role as an elected official," DeWitte said. "Mr. Richards' continued participation in city council meetings speaks for itself." A former plan commission member and past executive director of the Downtown St. Charles Partnership, Richards, 60, is one year into his third term. He said he believes there is a "smear campaign" working to tarnish his name. "This is hurtful, and I really don't understand why someone would try to smear me or anyone else with something like this," he said. "I really am disgusted."