A fifth charge of public indecency has been filed against a Marengo man; this time as a felony, while the prior accusations were misdemeanors.
Charges of public indecency involving lewd exposure against Jerry Sweat, 61, date back to 2024, according to complaints filed in the McHenry County court.
Sweat, who used a walker during his initial appearance before a judge Tuesday, was released from the county jail with conditions. Judge Cynthia Lamb ordered Sweat to have no contact with the business across the way from his apartment or with the people who made the complaint.
He is accused of standing in his window which faces the business and masturbating where people can see him, prosecutors said. The judge also ordered Sweat to undergo a sex offender evaluation within 30 days.
Sweat appeared in court Tuesday on the new charge, which is a second charged offense from the same date of Feb. 11, prosecutors said. The other offense from Feb. 11 is filed as a criminal misdemeanor, records show.
The complaint filed in the Feb. 11 felony case said Sweat “stood completely nude ... directly in front of a window of his apartment ... while patrons of a nearby business were walking toward said business.” Police allege that Sweat “confessed to exposing himself.”
The complaint also acknowledges the other alleged offense from the same day, for which Sweat is charged with a criminal misdemeanor.
Prior to those allegations, Sweat was charged with the same offenses in three other cases in October and December 2024, and in April 2025, criminal complaints show, although one of the charges was later dropped.
Authorities alleged that on the evenings of Oct. 3 and Dec. 12, 2024, and on the afternoon of April 16, 2025, Sweat “performed an act of lewd exposure of the body” while “standing in front of his second-story window ... while in clear view of the public parking lot” across the street. Each time, there were people in the parking lot who “observed the act,” according to the complaints.
On July 30, Sweat pleaded guilty to public indecency in the two 2024 cases and was sentenced to 18 months of conditional discharge and 120 days in county jail, of which he was supposed to serve half, according to court records. The case from April was dismissed, records show.
Judge Justin Hansen had also ordered Sweat to undergo a sex offender evaluation within 60 days. The judge set aside the jail time pending the completion of the evaluation. Court records do not indicate whether Sweat completed that evaluation.
In a news release issued in regards to the Feb. 11 charges, Marengo police did not name Sweat but said the department responded to two calls the previous day “regarding a male subject standing naked in a window visible to the public.”
Police said they were “unable to make contact” with the man during the investigation of the first incident but that, after the second call, he was “ultimately arrested.” This arrest led to the misdemeanor case from that date.
Police also addressed comments made on social media by members of the public who authorities said referenced taking the law into their own hands.
“We are aware of comments made about retaliating against this subject. We wish to remind the public that taking part in any illegal acts could result in being charged yourself,” police had said.
Authorities also encouraged people who witness such acts which Sweat is accused of to report them to police.
Sweat, who does not have an attorney listed in his records, is due in court March 17.