Police: Man accosted girl in north Modesto
Police are investigating a report of a man accosting a teenager on her way to school Monday morning.
According to Police Department spokeswoman Heather Graves, a 15-year-old girl was walking to school on Montclair Drive in north Modesto just before 7 a.m. when a man approached and “made contact with her backside.”
The girl told the man she was calling police, and he ran away.
Police soon arrived but could not locate the suspect, described as roughly 30 years old, about 6 feet tall, balding with brown hair. He was wearing a black sweatshirt and pajama bottoms.
Graves noted that it was still dark outside when the incident occurred, and warned students and others walking at that time to take extra care. She did not know which school the girl attended, but Montclair is west of Tully Road just north of Woodrow Avenue, not far from Davis High.
The incident is the second in a week.
On Thursday, a Somerset Middle School student reported that a man approached her from behind, grabbed her shirt and said, “Come here,” as she was walking at Floyd and Edward avenues.
The student ran away from the man, who was seen running north in an alley east of Edward.
The man in that case was wearing a large red sweatshirt with a sports team logo on it. He is described as Latino, with black hair, brown eyes and a medium build.
SAFETY TIPS
Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Heather Graves offered the following tips for anyone out walking:
▪ Pair up – don’t walk alone if you can help it.
▪ Stick to well-lighted areas and well-traveled roads if possible.
▪ Don’t take shortcuts through alleys or across lots.
▪ If confronted, call police immediately if you have a phone with you. Otherwise, scream and run to somewhere you feel safe, and then call authorities.
This story was originally published March 9, 2015 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Police: Man accosted girl in north Modesto."