NEW YORK — A Queens community is concerned after reports of multiple incidents of suspects inappropriately touching girls on their way to school. Authorities are now searching for two suspects who may be connected to the cases.
Detectives said the suspects have been deliberately approaching the girls in the Elmhurst and Maspeth neighborhoods.
One of the incidents occurred on Wednesday, Sept. 18, when a man used a Chihuahua “to lure girls into a conversation” while they were riding a city bus, according to New York Police Department Chief John Chell.
The unidentified man approached the 11-year-old girl on a crowded Q58 MTA bus around 7:30 a.m. and allegedly touched her breast. Then, less than 10 minutes later, police said he inappropriately grabbed another 11-year-old girl in the private area.
In both cases, police said he used the small dog to make the girls feel comfortable. After the second groping on the bus, police said the man got off the bus at 72nd Street and Grand Avenue and headed north.
“This man is intentionally using a puppy to sexually abuse young girls on the way to school, on a bus,” Chell told NBC New York.
Images of the suspect released by the NYPD show the curly-haired man, who was approximately 30 to 45 years old, and was last seen carrying the dog. He was wearing a black baseball cap, a yellow jacket and black sweatpants.
In the latest case, police say another suspect spit his drink on a 12-year-old girl who was walking to school in the area of 71st Street and 54th Avenue. Detectives say the man pretended to wipe the girl, but instead touched her buttocks.
The suspect was seen on surveillance footage wearing a blue uniform and a black cap.
“Common, dangerous, predatory denominator: girls going to school,” Chell said disgustedly. “This is the modus operandi of a sexual predator. This is a parent’s worst nightmare.”
The New York Police Department is increasing police resources throughout the community and is also encouraging parents to talk to their children about the two men suspected in the incidents. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 1-888-57-CLIP.