Bond was set at $30,000 Friday for a 60-year-old Salem man who was formally charged in Marion County Court with traveling to meet a minor.
Donald Bumgarner of North Miller is accused in the charge of traveling a distance in Illinois for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual conduct with a defendant he believed to be a child after using a device capable of electronic data storage or transmission to attempt to lure or entice a person he believed to be a child.
Salem Police say Bumgarner allegedly made a sexual gesture last August from his car while driving through Bryan Memorial Park at two 16-year-old boys. The boys say they later found Bumgarner’s license plate and phone numbers on graffiti in the bathroom with a notation to call if they wanted a good time.
The boys called the number on the graffiti telling the person who answered the phone they were only 14. Bumgarner is accused of returning to the bathroom where the boys confronted him and no sexual activity occurred.
The two boys then called police who were able to locate a man matching Bumgarner’s description leaving the area on video surveillance of the park.
Upon questioning on Thursday by Salem Police, Bumgarner allegedly admitted coming to the park for a different reason and claimed someone else was responsible for the graffiti.
Bumgarner had the public defender appointed to represent him. If released on bond, he was ordered to have no contact with anyone under 18 and no contact with Bryan Memorial Park. Bumgarner is due back in Marion County Court for a preliminary hearing on January 11th.
