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Police seek leads in harassment of pre-teenage girls

June, 15, 2016 – Oak Park Police are investigating two incidents within about an hour’s time where three pre-teenage girls were verbally harassed as they walked along neighborhood sidewalks late Tuesday afternoon.

The first incident occurred at about 4:15 p.m. near Wesley Avenue and Adams Street, and the second incident at about 5:15 p.m. in the 500 block of north Harvey Avenue. While descriptions of the suspect shared similarities, police have not determined if the the two incidents are connected.

In the first incident near Wesley and Adams, the 11-year-old victim told police a blue, four-door sedan travelling north on Wesley came up beside her from behind. The driver lowered down the window and asked if she wanted a ride, she said.

The girl, who was walking home from the Rehm Park swimming pool, said she screamed and ran to her home in the 500 block of Wesley. She described the man as white, about 25 years old, with blonde hair and a beard. She said he was wearing a rainbow-colored shirt.

In the second incident, two 12-year-old girls reported they were approached by a man on foot who asked them if they wanted to hang out. The victims told police they immediately turned and walked back to a residence in the 400 block of north Harvey.

The suspect in this incident was described as a white male in his 20s, about 5-feet, 8- or 9-inches tall with a slim build, short brown hair and a beard. The victims said he was wearing a long-sleeved, possibly red and white shirt and beige pants. The suspect appeared to have trouble walking and slurred his speech, the victims said.

Police have not yet determined if the two events are related since the suspect in the first incident was driving and the suspect in the second incident was on foot. The victim in the first incident told Police she did not see any indication that the man in the car was impaired, as was reported by the two victims in the second incident.

All three victims told Police they believe they can identify a suspect.

“These types of incidents are unnerving, but the victims clearly knew what to do and did it,” said Oak Park Police Chief Rick C. Tanksley. “I urge parents to make sure their children know to never approach an unknown adult under such circumstances, and to immediately get to a safe place and call 911.”

Tanksley also asked residents to be vigilant and to never hesitate to report strangers in their neighborhoods.

“Residents are our partners in preventing and solving such crimes,” he said. “Citizens should never hesitate to call 911 if they have any inkling of something not being right. We would much rather be called out only to discover that nothing was wrong, than to be investigating a crime after the fact.”

Anyone with information related to these incidents is asked to call 708.386.3800 or email police@oak-park.us. Anonymous tips can be made at 708.434.1636 or online at www.oak-park.us/crimetips.