Gig Harbor Police Arrest Indecent Exposure Suspect

GIG HARBOR, WA — A 32-year-old man is behind bars, accused of a three-day crime spree in Gig Harbor earlier this week.

According to Gig Harbor police, the first incident happened Monday, at around 12:30 p.m. That's when an 18-year-old woman called police to report that she had been followed from a gas station by a suspicious man. After tailing her, the man had approached her and asked several suggestive and inappropriate questions, the victim said. The man took off in his car before police arrived.

However, the next day officers got a second call they believe was about the same man: a 17-year-old girl dialed 911 to say she had been followed by an unknown man driving a car — which they believe is the same car he used to escape the first incident. The man eventually pulled his vehicle alongside the girl's car, and yelled that he was going to sexually assault her, before speeding off.

Finally, on Wednesday just after noon, police say the same man approached a 35-year-old woman as she sat parked in her car outside a shopping center. The woman says he tried to ask her out on dates several times. After the woman repeatedly refused, the man exposed himself and hopped into the same car he had used in the other two incidents earlier in the week.

This time, however, his victim was able to take a picture of the vehicle, including his license plate.

Gig Harbor police say they then ran the plates and were able to track him to his work, where he was arrested. During his arrest, police say he admitted to all three incidents.

The 32-year-old suspect has been booked into jail to face charges of assault with sexual motivations and indecent exposure.

Police are also looking into the possibility that the same man may have tried the same tactics on other women. Anyone who thinks they were approached by this suspect is asked to call Gig Harbor Police's Detective Federici at (253) 853-2421.