Experts say no jail time for drunken man police say repeatedly exposes self in restaurants

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A Seminole County man accused of repeatedly exposing himself in restaurants has been ordered by a judge to be on house arrest.

Alvaro Pena-Yepes has been arrested at least 12 times since 2002 -- predominantly for lewd acts in public.

Mental health experts told Channel 9's Field Sutton that Pena-Yepes falls into a gap in existing law that prevents him from being convicted of crimes and imprisoned while also barring judges from forcing him into treatment for what doctors describe as brain injuries.

Doctors have also told a Seminole County judge that the only way Pena-Yepes might stop exposing himself and acting out in public is if he quits drinking and receives family interventions.

Since his last appearance in front of a judge to answer for assorted recent allegations, probation officers said they’ve caught Pena-Yepes at seven different bars and restaurants. They said he typically arrives fully intoxicated and attempts to continue consuming alcohol.

In light of allegedly continuing to commit lewd acts while on bond with previous cases pending, Pena-Yepes was ordered to serve an 8 p.m. – 7 p.m. curfew beginning April 3. But the next day, probation officers say he was at Rookies Cantina in Longwood between 8 and 10 p.m.

Pena-Yepes is then accused of traveling to and saying something obscene toward bartender at Froggers Grill in Altamonte Springs.

April 6, he was allegedly at a the Renaissance Plaza shopping center, and then Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza in Altamonte Springs. The next day, a Pizza Hutt in Apopka and, on April 8, Tibby’s New Orleans Kitchen in Altamonte Springs.

On one of the nights in question he was hospitalized for alcohol poisoning. The whole episode convinced the judge to extend her curfew to 24 hours a day.

Read: Attorneys for man accused of performing lewd act in public say he's too sick to stand trial

Pena-Yepes had previously been ordered to wear an ankle monitor that lets probation officers know when he consumes alcohol. Probation officers say he wasn’t wearing it when they checked.

Eyewitness News found out Pena-Yepes has a doctor who claims that putting the alcohol monitor on him will be bad for his health, which has halted the fitting process for the time being.

Cox Media Group