Nassau County Police On The Hunt For Armed Serial Flasher Targeting Women
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - Police are searching for a serial flasher on Long Island who they say is also armed with a gun.
The suspect had exposed himself to at least three women this week, with the last encounter escalating to an attempted robbery, reports CBSN New York's Christina Fan.
Police say his crime spree began Tuesday afternoon as a 17-year-old girl was walking home from Valley Stream High School.
The man, driving a black 4-door car believed to be a Mercedes Benz, got the victim's attention by asking for directions and then started inappropriately touching himself.
"That's just disgusting, that's atrocious," said Valley Stream resident Celene Cyrus.
About 20 minutes later he struck again, this time in Garden City by targeting a 56-year-old woman out walking her dog.
"My daughter walks the dog and I'm afraid for her, she's a young girl," said Mae Parasimo, also of Valley Stream.
Police say the suspect's lewd behavior escalated in the third and final incident on Thursday afternoon, again in Valley Stream, but this time on Grove Street. Not only did he fondle himself, the 47-year-old victim told police he was also armed, pointed the gun at her, and demanded money.
"It definitely grosses me out, I can't even describe on TV but I'd like to see happen to a piece of garbage like, seriously there is no excuse for that," said Kevin Buckhout.
"I wouldn't hesitate to help somebody, but I may think twice about it now," said Gabby Locicero.
Police say all the incidents happened between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.
The suspect in all three cases is described as being between 20- to 30-year-old man with black hair. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Nassau County Police at 1-800-244-8477 or online at nassaucounty.crimestoppersweb.com. Callers can remain anonymous and are eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $5000 if the information given leads to an arrest.