Md. man held in Aruba accused of indecent exposure

WASHINGTON – A Maryland man who had been suspected in the presumed death of his traveling companion in Aruba was arrested on a charge of indecent exposure after police say they found him naked in a car with a woman.

Gary Giordano was arrested in Annapolis, Md., on Friday when officers responding to a report of "possible sexual activity" inside a car in a parking garage found him and a woman lying in the back of the vehicle. Giordano, 51, was "completely nude," and his companion pulled a sheet up to her neck to cover her left breast, a police report says.

The report says the two were lying together on a single mattress, partially covered by a blanket, in the rear cargo area of the car when police arrived. It says a blanket hung from inside the car "in what appeared to be an attempt to conceal their activity." The report does not say that the pair was having sex.

The woman, identified as 45-year-old Carol Ann Bock of Springfield, Tenn., was also charged with indecent exposure. No telephone listing could immediately be found for her.

Giordano, of Gaithersburg, deferred comment to his lawyer, Steven Kupferberg, who did not immediately return a message Tuesday.

Aruban authorities detained Giordano in August on suspicion that he was involved in the disappearance of Robyn Gardner, his traveling companion. He denied wrongdoing and was released in November after an Aruban judge ruled authorities lacked enough evidence to continue holding him.

Giordano has said that Gardner, 35, of Frederick, Md., was swept out to sea as the two snorkeled Aug. 2 off the southern tip of Aruba. Her friends and family have cast doubt on that statement, saying it was unlikely she would have gone snorkeling in the first place.

Annapolis Police Chief Michael Pristoop called indecent exposure "intolerable" but denied that the arrest had anything to do with Giordano's recent past.

"While we recognize that Mr. Giordano enjoys an infamous reputation, the Annapolis arrest was simply a matter of effective police work in response to citizen complaints. Officers took quick and appropriate action under the circumstances," Pristoop said in a written statement.