Brainerd Police: Man Followed Boys into Bathroom at Baseball Game

BRAINERD - A Maple Grove man is facing charges after police say he followed 11 to 13 year old boys into a bathroom at a Brainerd youth baseball tournament.

Police were called to a baseball field in Bane Park, in the 1700 block of 7th Street South, shortly after 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Parents reported that an unknown man was following boys into the restroom. Police arrived and arrested Jeffrey Gerdes without incident. A parent confronted Gerdes as he was trying to leave the area. He was taken to jail to face a felony charge of interference with privacy against a minor.

Witnesses say they saw him in the area of bathrooms. As soon as a child would enter, he would follow them inside.

According to court documents, Gerdes claimed to have a friend who had a child playing for one of the teams. However, there was no parent of a player on the team by the name he gave. The document says a witness saw him standing at a urinal next to a boy. There were no privacy dividers between the urinals.

The complaint says that Gerdes was also seen following boys to the bathroom the week before at a different baseball tournament in Rogers with the same boys team.

Brainerd Police are still investigating. Anyone with information should call them at 218-829-2805