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Jun 30, 2009 3:20 pm US/Central
Grapevine Moviegoer Groping Girls In Theater
Compiled From Staff Reports
GRAPEVINE (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Police in Grapevine are looking for the man who, they say, groped a 14-year-old girl inside the Cinemark Tinseltown movie theater, located along Highway 114. And, he may be the suspect in at least four, maybe six, other incidents dating back to December of 2008.
The list of known incidents include a 14-year-old girl on June 27 at about 6:30 p.m., a 10-year-old girl on April 19 at about 7:15 p.m., an 8-year-old girl on January 24 at about 9:00 p.m. and an 18-year-old female on December 29 at about midnight. All victims were reportedly at the theater with their parents.
In the most recent occurrence, which happened Saturday evening in a
theater showing "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," the suspect
escalated his contact from minor offenses (touching of the arms and
legs) to more serious contact (the victim's breast and
buttocks).
"He came in after like, the lights had gone on and the previews had already started. He came in later than everyone else, which was kind of weird. And he came in on his own," the victim of the December incident told CBS 11 News. "I guess I would have thought I would handle the situation better, but like, just when something like that happens, like, it just like, stops you."
"When it happened to me, I like, moved away because it was like, 'Oh, that's weird,' like when I first recognized it," the victim said. "But then, like, he didn't stop. And that's when I realized there was a problem. And I told my friends we had to leave."
Police in Grapevine are eager to catch the suspect, as they fear his behavior is only getting worse. "The first three incidents that we know of, he's only touched the children on the legs or on the foot. And this last time he stepped up to a felony and touched the child on the breast and on the buttocks," said Lt. Todd Dearing with the Grapevine Police Department.
Dearing continued, "He leaves his hands there as long as he can until the child gets uncomfortable enough to either move or notify their parent."
According to the police reports, the suspect "took a phone call" and left the theater when he thought that he might be caught.
"It's really sad," said local parent Molly Holt, "that someone would go into a movie theater and take advantage of young ladies. And this is just one more thing that they have to be concerned about."
The suspect has been described as a white male, approximately 40 to 50 years old, about 5 feet 9 inches tall with a thin build, roughly 155 to 170 pounds. He has brown, graying hair, with a receding hairline, and was described as clean shaven in three of the incidents and "scruffy" in the fourth. He was also described as having a "hooked" nose.
If found, the suspect faces felony charges of indecency with a child, which carries a two to 20 year prison sentence, if convicted.
The victim had this advice for female theater patrons. "Know that it's okay to call 911 and to get up and move or just to tell him to stop," she said.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to call the Grapevine Police Department at 817-410-3200.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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