A charge of committing an indecent act in a public place has been dropped against an Abbotsford man.
The charge against Thomas Michael Pappas, 49, was dismissed Feb. 7 in Abbotsford provincial court, but he was found guilty of possession of a controlled substance and was handed a $250 fine.
Pappas was charged in July 2013 after a woman reported to police that she and her parents were walking through Swensson Park in west Abbotsford when they saw a man who appeared to be masturbating.
The woman said the man was lying on a grass area between the tennis courts and playground.
She called police on her cellphone, and Pappas, who matched the woman's description, was located near the park by a patrol officer.
He was found to be carrying a small amount of marijuana, and was arrested and later charged.
Pappas was also convicted on Feb. 17 of one count of assault causing bodily harm in relation to an incident in Mission in October 2012, as well as one count of breaching his probation and another charge of possessing a controlled substance in Abbotsford in November 2013.
He was sentenced to three months in prison, one year of probation and a $100 fine for those offences.