UNC Professor Faces Indecency Charge From Airport Arrest

Atlanta — A part-time professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was arrested last week at an Atlanta airport and charged with indecent exposure.

Dr. Hugh Tilson, 67, an epidemiologist and researcher was arrested inside a bathroom at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Last week, undercover police staked out the bathroom as part of a month-long operation. Authorities said the airport has earned a global reputation as a place where men pick up other men.

"We have found Web sites where people have mentioned meeting at Hartsfield-Jackson," Atlanta police Maj. Darryl Tolleson said.

Tilson was one of a dozen men arrested during the operation.

Tilson bonded out after his arrest and is still on staff at UNC-Chapel Hil, where he has worked as a clinical professor since 1979. He administers the grand rounds program at the School of Public Health.

In a statement released Monday afternoon, the university declined to comment on the case, citing personnel issues.

"The university takes the charges seriously," the statement read. "We think it is important to let the Georgia judicial system resolve the case."

Tilson, who is due back in an Atlanta courtroom next month, did not return WRAL's phone calls seeking comment.