By Jim Hannah
The Cincinnati Enquirer

COVINGTON - A 24-year-old Independence man pleaded guilty this week to exposing himself to three females - including two girls walking to school.

George Phetterplace Jr. was sentenced Wednesday to the maximum 180 days in jail on two counts of indecent exposure for flashing two Erlanger school girls walking to school in February. After serving his time, Phetterplace will be placed on probation for two years and must undergo psychiatric treatment.

Phetterplace, who is married, will be sentenced on a third count of indecent exposure on May 28.

That count stems from flashing a woman who worked at Emerson Power Transmission on New Buffington Road in March.

"We were concerned this type of conduct left unchecked could escalate to something more serious," Ken Easterling, chief prosecutor for the Kenton County Attorney's Office, said.

Efforts to prosecute Phetterplace were hampered by other victims not coming forward to police, Easterling said.

Phetterplace admitted to flashing many more women than the three he pleaded guilty to, Easterling said, but police needed victims' names to make more charges stick in court.

Phetterplace was apprehended March 17 when an Erlanger police officer saw a truck that matched the description of a vehicle driven by the flasher in the area of Miles Elementary School, near where a 9-year-old reported being flashed a day earlier.

Phetterplace admitted he flashed the 9-year-old and a 14-year-old as she walked to Lloyd High School, police said.

E-mail jhannah@enquirer.com