Arkansas man arrested for sexual misconduct in Poplar Bluff

A Salem, Arkansas, man is in the Butler County jail facing alleged charges of sexual misconduct.

Joel W. Griffith, 47, of Salem, Arkansas, was arrested at 8.42 a.m. Saturday, in the 3000 block of Oak Grove Road. Griffith was booked on three charges of Sexual Misconduct 1st degree and he was lodged in the Butler County Jail.

He is facing first degree peace disturbance, sexual misconduct first degree — second or subsequent offense.

According to a Poplar Bluff Police report, the arrest stemmed from the investigation of three separate reports between July 5-9 that Griffith was seen masturbating in public. Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley said, “We had multiple complaints about this guy doing the same sick stuff he would have done. We got a tip from an individual he saw him in front of a store and kept him in sight until we got there.”

Describing any alleged sexual misconduct was “a high priority,” Whiteley said, “Of course, anytime we get some kind of a sexual pervert around our town, we will try and catch him and we did and we’re in the process of securing a search warrant for his car and or his phone.”