Police On Lookout For Man Who Made Sexual Gestures Towards Students

Police were searching on Friday for the man they said approached children in two separate incidents just hours apart earlier this week.

Carson Elementary School Principal Sara Brlas said that three girls, a fourth grader, third grader and first grader, reported that they were walking in an alley less than a block from their school when they were stopped by a man in a car, 10TV’s Glenn McEntyre reported.

Brlas said the man offered the girls a ride, made sexual references and made a crude sexual gesture toward them.

The girls ran to one of their parents’ cars, and the man quickly drove off.

“They were asked if they would like a ride,” Newark police Sgt. Scott Snow said. “They very wisely said no, and he made a crude gesture towards them. I think at that point, they took off.”

Two hours later, two 10-year-old girls were riding their scooters in a church parking lot on West National Drive, when they said a man in a green car approached them.

A mother, who asked to remain anonymous, said that her 10-year-old daughter was still upset over what happened.

“She was shaking,” the mother said. “She was very shaken up.”

The mother said that the man got close to the girls.

“He was even close enough that they could get his eye color,” the mother said. “He asked them if they wanted to go for a ride. They both stood there and said no, and he asked them if they were sure.”

Police were contacted and a letter was sent home notifying parents on Thursday.

"I'm furious that there's anyone who would even attempt to stop one of our kids and do anything like that. It upsets me,” Brlas said. “It scares me for them, because they're so innocent. It scares me for them and I want to immediately find a way to teach them more to keep them safe."

The girls in both incidents said the man who approached them was in a green car.

“We take these very seriously,” Snow said. “It’s not unusual to get a couple of them. It’s more unusual to get them this close together with this close a description.”

The mother of one of the girls said that it would take a while for her daughter to recover.

“Now she can’t do anything by herself,” the mother said. “She won’t even sleep by herself at 10 years old. It has made her terrified.”

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