ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A Swannanoa man was sentenced to 21 to 35 months in prison after pleading guilty to indecent liberties and indecent exposure charges tied to downtown Asheville incidents involving minors and adults.
The Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office said Michael Matthew Murphy Jr., 44, of Swannanoa pleaded guilty to two felony counts of taking indecent liberties with minors and five counts of misdemeanor indecent exposure. A superior court judge imposed the active prison term of 21 to 35 months.
The Asheville Police Department initially arrested Murphy on five misdemeanor indecent exposure counts after a series of downtown incidents in May. After that arrest was reported, a witness told investigators he exposed and inappropriately touched himself in front of her and three children near Patton Avenue and South French Broad Avenue. Prosecutors with the Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office then brought the felony indecent liberties charges for crimes committed in the presence of minor children.
Upon release, Murphy must register as a sex offender for 30 years and is subject to a lifetime court order barring contact with the juvenile victims. He had remained in custody at the Buncombe County Detention Facility under secured bond since his initial arrest in June.
District Attorney Todd Williams said the prison sentence and registration conditions followed community reporting and work by Asheville Police Department investigators. The Asheville Police Department is the city law enforcement agency for Asheville, and Buncombe County remains the county jurisdiction covering the downtown case.
