'Chronic masturbator' poses for police mugshot

NZ Herald

2 Oct, 2019 07:54 PM2 mins to read

Police released the mugshot after Olsen's arrest. Photo / Getty

US police are well-known for releasing photos of recent arrests, a policy that has given the world some iconic photos of celebrities who have fallen foul of the law.

In a recent case in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the release of alleged sex offender Stephen Olsen's mugshot has prompted widespread hilarity, due to the unfortunate juxtaposition of Olsen's expression with the vile crime he is accused of.

Olsen was arrested and charged with indecent exposure after police fielded numerous complaints that he had pulled his pants down and touched himself in a sexual manner in the middle of a public park.

Police announced the arrest in a news release with the subject line: "Chronic Masturbator Caught."

Get your hand off it Stephen. Photo / Tulsa County Jail

But it is the expression shown by Olsen when he was photographed by authorities that has caught the attention of the internet.

When the photo was shared by a local news outlet on Facebook, the comments came thick and fast.

"That'll be probably be a HARD case to BEAT," wrote one jokester while another said: "That is exactly what I thought a Chronic Public Masturbator would look like."

"Was it because he went blind?" suggested another while many asked if he was committing the same offence while being photographed.

Other users suggested that Olsen "looks like a hardened criminal" and had been "caught red handed" while one labelled the pic the "BEST. MUGSHOT. EVER".

That's a bold call and Olsen may face some stiff competition from Nick Nolte and gold spraypaint man, two of the finest examples of police mugshots from the past 20 years.