Sanford police looking for man who exposed himself, tried to kidnap young girl
Image released by Sanford Police Department
SANFORD, Fla. - Police in Sanford are looking for a man who allegedly exposed himself to a group of middle school girls who were walking to their bus on Friday, and then attempted to grab one of the girls' backpacks.
Sanford police said the three girls were walking to their school bus Friday morning in the area of 5th Street and Avocado Avenue when they saw a man standing by a tree. That man – later identified as 23-year-old Jerral Ugene Wynn – allegedly exposed himself and began touching himself, police said.
According to police, the girls walked away from the area, but Wynn followed them. He then grabbed one of the girls' backpacks, who had to remove her backpack in order to get away from him.
The three girls were able to get away and told their parents what happened, police said.
"Based on the investigation, it is believed previous encounters with Wynn may have occurred in the area and not been reported," police said in a news release.
Wynn is wanted for lewd and lascivious behavior and attempted kidnapping, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sanford police or Crimeline at 800-423-8477 (TIPS).
"This type of behavior is nothing other than disgusting. Our children should be able to walk to school and never encounter a situation such as this one. I encourage anyone who knows of similar incidents to come forward. We need to get this man off our streets immediately, before he victimizes another child," said Chief Cecil Smith in a statement.