Two men arrested for exposing themselves on T; one arrest prompted by Twitter report

MBTA photos

John A. Breyers, 64, of Brighton (left) and Lawrence MaGuire, 59, of Dorchester are accused of exposing themselves.

By Christopher Girard, Globe Correspondent

MBTA general manager Richard Davey announced the arrests of two men accused of exposing themselves on the subway, at a press conference today.

A Twitter report led to the arrest of one of the suspects, said Davey, who said the MBTA is committed to using social networking as a crime-fighting tool.

The MBTA Transit Police plan to set up a Twitter account within a month to help customers report possible crimes, Deputy Chief Joseph O'Connor said at the press conference just inside the gates at Hynes Station on the Green Line.

"We hope that this helps bring people forward to report these crimes," O'Connor said.

Lawrence MaGuire, 59, of Dorchester is accused of exposing himself and masturbating while traveling on the Red Line from Davis to Park Street about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, O'Connor said.

O'Connor said a passenger near MaGuire posted a picture on Twitter that led to MaGuire.

The Boston Herald reported today that they alerted the MBTA to the tweets about the incident. A transit police lieutenant recognized MaGuire, and after his identity was confirmed, he was arrested late Friday night, O'Connor said.

John A. Beyers, 64, of Brighton is accused of exposing himself to women on July 22 at Reservoir Station on the D Branch of the Green Line, according to a statement from the MBTA. A witness sent a photo of the suspect to the MBTA, O'Connor said. Beyers was also arrested Friday night, according to the statement.

Both are charged with gross and indecent exposure.

"I want to commend the transit police for acting swiftly and making these arrests, and I want to thank our customers for being alert and reporting this behavior," Davey said.

Davey said that although it is not a cure-all, technology can help law enforcement keep passengers safe and secure. In recent weeks, transit police have used additional photos taken on passengers' cellphones to make wanted posters and issue alerts, Davey said.

"It is not in place of 911," Davey said, "but if there are crimes and people report them, that helps us keep passengers safer."

When asked if he thought passengers posting photos of passengers online is invasive, Davey said mass transit is not private to begin with.

"There's no expectation of privacy in a public space. That's pretty established," Davey said.