Man Asks Girl, 13, For Number Before Asking Woman, 57, For Sex

PARK RIDGE, IL — Police suspect the same man was involved in two incidents of disorderly conduct that took place about a block apart Monday afternoon and prompted a letter to parents from local school officials. In the first incident, a man walked up to a 13-year-old girl near Lincoln Middle School around 3:15 p.m. on the 800 block of South Western Avenue, according to police. He complimented her on her looks and asked her for her number before the girl ran away.

About 90 minutes later and a block away, a man matching the description provided by the girl – this time, wearing glasses – pulled up to a 57-year-old woman on foot in a silver Honda four-door sedan, according to Park Ridge Police Deputy Chief Duane Mellema. The man commented about her looks and propositioned her for a sex act. He drove away when she rejected the offer.

Both the 13-year-old and the 57-year-old described the man as a 5-foot, 10-inches to 6 feet tall, white man with brown hair and a light beard, wearing black jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt, police said. He also used the same turns of phrase in both encounters.

Mellema said detectives have made contact with nearby departments to see if they can link the suspect to any other incidents. Potentially, officers in other towns might recognize the man from previous encounters.

"Unfortunately in this day and age, it's not unheard of behavior," Mellema said. "But it's still within the realm of behaviors that's still unusual enough it's not generally an enormous pool of people you'd be looking at."

Extra officers would be assigned to the areas around schools during arrival and dismissal times, Mellema said.

Park Ridge-Niles School District Superintendent Laurie Heinz sent an email to parents Monday evening first reported by the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate asking parents to take care to review safety procedures with children and report any encounter that may feel unsafe.

"I have been watching you and you are perfect," the man reportedly told the 13-year-old middle school student.

Approximate location of Monday afternoon's incidents:

Top photo via Patch file/Jonah Meadows