A 33-year-old Manteca man has been arrested on charges that he exposed himself and masturbated on numerous occasions when a Manteca Unified bus driver passed by.
The bus driver who was followed over the course of two months was able to finally obtain the license plate numbers of a pickup truck driver allegedly masturbating in sight of the bus. That allowed Manteca Police to arrest the suspect Tuesday while parked in his vehicle on Santa Rosa Court.
Arrested and booked into San Joaquin County Jail was Gerald Thaddeus Nelson.
The female bus driver didn’t have any students on board when the incidents occurred, she told police. The Manteca Unified driver noted that the suspect would engage in the same behavior and exposure himself each time he was seen by the driver driving by in her bus.
 On one occasion the suspect was allegedly masturbating in the driver’s seat of his vehicle while looking at the bus driver.  Police quoted the bus driver as saying the man would also drive through the parking lot at the Manteca Unified School District office transportation department after she had parked her bus. She also told police she’d see him waiting on side streets when leaving work in her personal vehicle.
After an investigation by school resource officer Eva Steele and the detective unit, the suspect was identified. Detective Stephen Schluer obtained a warrant for his arrest.  He was subsequently contacted and arrested by Manteca police officers.
The suspect is being held in the San Joaquin County Jail in lieu of a $3,000 bail amount.  He is scheduled to appear in the Stockton Courthouse at 1:29 p.m. on Friday.