« House panel to hear historic-buildings credit changes | Today | Mass. bill would ban sex offenders from voting near kids »

March 19, 2008

E. Providence police search for man who exposed himself

EAST PROVIDENCE -- The police are searching for a man they said exposed his genitals to middle school students yesterday and who was reported to have followed three middle school students to a home.

The man was not on the campus when the incidents allegedly happened, but was nearby in the Brown Street area neighborhood, according to a police news release today.

Officers "saturated the area" after receiving the report at about 2:15 p.m. yesterday but did not find the suspect, who they said was chased away by a student's adult relative before the police were notified.

There was no physical contact between the man and the students, the police said.

The police described the suspect as a white male of Hispanic descent with short dark hair and dark eyes. He is 5-foot-8 to 6-feet tall and of medium build. He was said to be in his 30s and wearing dark pants with a navy-blue zipper-type windbreaker. The windbreaker was described as gray on the inside.

The East Providence School Department has started notifying students' parents, and the police are working with other agencies to try to identify a suspect. The police said they assigned more officers to the schools' area.

The police recommended that children use a buddy system and not walk to and from school by themselves. Parents are advised to talk about safety steps with children.

The department asks people to call 911 if any suspicious person or people, incident or conditions are seen.

People with information should call the police department at (401) 435-7600.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 3:42 PM | Permalink

Comments

Post a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)