On the morning of Sunday, July 14 at 9:00 am, a man entered Swensson Park and reclined on a grassed area between the tennis courts and a playground. A woman in her 40’s and her parents were walking around the park and noted initially that the man removed his shirt but quickly identified that he was also masturbating.
The woman contacted the Abbotsford Police Department on her cell phone and the man left the immediate area. An Abbotsford Police Patrol Division officer located a man matching the description on Lefeuvre Road. The officer arrested 49 year old Thomas Michael Pappas.
Pappas has now been charged with the Indecent Act and Possession of a Controlled Substance.
Pappas has previous convictions for Sexual Assault, Uttering Threats and Theft. He is under probation orders for Assault Causing Bodily Harm and Theft under $5000.
His court ordered conditions include:
- No direct or indirect contact with any person under the age of 16
- Not to attend parks, playgrounds, recreation centres or other places a person under the age of 16 might be present or might be expected to be present
- Not to possess firearms or weapons
- Not to possess or consume alcohol or controlled substances
Thomas Pappas is 5’9” tall and weighs 160 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes (see attached photo). Although Pappas has been a Mission resident, it appears he has now moved to Abbotsford.