Gwinnett County

Police arrest man accused of exposing himself at several local pools

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — UPDATE: The public indecency charge against Daniel Unije was dismissed. Unije pleaded guilty to loitering and prowling.

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Police say a man who has been creeping around Gwinnett and North Fulton county apartment complex pools and then exposing himself is finally behind bars.

Authorities had been searching for 21-year-old Daniel Unije for a while, but say he always seemed to vanish by the time officers arrived.

Witnesses at several Johns Creek and Duluth apartment complexes have reported seeing Unije walking around, especially near their pool areas, and then touching himself in public.

The most recent incident happened Wednesday, officers said.

People who live at the Colonial Grand Apartments say on that hot afternoon, Unije frightened several people after they spotted him exposed. He left before police arrived.

Police say Unije was already on probation for a sex crime and was so well-known, the responding officer had a picture of him on his phone, and residents immediately confirmed that was the man they saw.

“I asked him, ‘What apartment do you live in?’ And he yelled and said he's visiting a friend,” the apartment manager said.

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Women at the complex told police they’d seen the man before.

“He walks up to women and asks them random questions or asks if he can rub lotion on their feet,” the responding officer said. “Apparently he has been doing this for a few years now.”

Police feared he would hurt someone, so last week Duluth police issued a BOLO, or be on the lookout, for him and a warrant for public indecency.

“It’s not the biggest crime, but it had a lot of people worried,” Duluth Officer Ted Sadowski said.

Monday, when Unije showed up outside police headquarters for an unrelated court appearance, officers were waiting.

“He got up and left the lobby of the police department and started walking towards the parking lot. That was our time to react,” Sadowski said. “When we first approached him, he didn't know what was going on.”

Unije is jailed on one count of public indecency.