FAYETTEVILLE — A man who exposed himself to children in an Arkansas Walmart was convicted Wednesday of three counts of sexual indecency with a child, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
The evidence against Micah Kenton Krol, 38, of Bella Vista consisted primarily of video from the Springdale store showing him approaching three children while their parents weren't close by and quickly exposing himself.
The Washington County Circuit Court jury took about 30 minutes to reach the guilty verdicts on the three felony charges. In the sentencing phase of the one-day trial, the jury recommended Krol be sentenced to one year at the Arkansas Department of Correction on each charge.
Circuit Judge Joanna Taylor sentenced Krol and ordered the terms to run consecutively — for a total of three years. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.
Police were called to the Walmart on Pleasant Street on Feb. 2, 2016, after employees reported a man exposing himself to small children.
Krol left the store before police arrived, but officers used video of the license plate on Krol's vehicle to obtain his driver's license information. Police matched Krol's photo to surveillance footage that captured Krol exposing his genitals to three children at two spots in the store.
Krol was arrested a couple days later at the University of Arkansas' Alpha Delta Pi sorority house, where he was employed as a chef at the time.
Police weren't able to identify the children or their parents, and it wasn't clear from the video whether the children actually saw Krol's genitals before they ran away. There were no complaints made to the store or police about the incidents.
His attorney, Shane Wilkinson, had argued Krol was charged with something he didn't do and couldn't be convicted without either a victim's testimony or some evidence the children saw him exposing himself to them.
"They are trying to shove a square peg in a round hole. Period. End of story," Wilkinson said. "You might not like what you see, but he's not guilty of what he's charged with, sexual indecency with a child."
