Center for Disease Control Adviser Arrested for Urinal Incident

The Judge · #1 01-23-2007, 05:52 PM

(01-22) 14:53 PST ATLANTA (AP) --
A prominent public health expert who is a top adviser to federal health agencies was arrested on suspicion of public indecency in an airport men's room.

Dr. Hugh H. Tilson, 67, was arrested Jan. 16 at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after a plainclothes police officer said he saw Tilson masturbating at a urinal while watching other men urinate.

Tilson, a part-time faculty member at the University of North Carolina's School of Public Health, has advised the government and industry on health issues and co-authored an influential 1988 report on the future of public health in the U.S.

Tilson recently co-chaired a task force advising the Atlanta-based federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on setting agency priorities and goals. He was visiting Atlanta last week for a senior leadership retreat with CDC Director Julie Gerberding and others.

CDC spokesman Glen Nowak said Monday that agency officials had just learned of Tilson's arrest. The agency had no comment "because it's a law enforcement matter," he said.

Tilson could not immediately be reached for comment at his UNC office or Raleigh, N.C., home, or through his university e-mail.

UNC officials issued a statement that clarified that Tilson is not a classroom instructor. "The university takes the charges seriously. We think it is important to let the Georgia judicial system resolve the case," the statement said.

Public indecency is a city code violation, which is considered of less consequence than a misdemeanor, according to a police report. Tilson posted a $500 bond and was released, and is to return to Atlanta next month for a court appearance.