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Wanted: Suspect who grabbed teen girl in Spring Valley

A sketch of the man suspected of sexually harassing a girl and trying to grab another into his car in Spring Valley, March 15, 2022.
San Diego County Sheriff's Department
A sketch of the man suspected of sexually harassing a girl and trying to grab another into his car in Spring Valley, March 15, 2022.

Authorities Tuesday sought the public's help to identify the man who sexually harassed one girl and attempted to get another to enter his car in Spring Valley.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department received a report from a 13- year-old girl who said she was walking in the area of Conrad Drive and Campo Road, near Spring Valley Middle School, about 4 p.m. Friday when the suspect approached her from behind and "inappropriately touched her," according to a department statement.

The man walked away from the area as other students yelled at him. The victim then went home and reported the incident to authorities on Monday.

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The suspect described by the victim matched the man in another incident involving a second 13-year-old girl, according to the sheriff's department.

The second victim was crossing a parking lot near a drug store in the 9600 block of Campo Road on Feb. 28 when the suspect driving a black Toyota Prius asked if she needed a ride. The victim refused, leading the man to demand she get into the car.

The girl told investigators she ran across the street to avoid the man, then reported the confrontation to her school, according to the SDSD.

The suspect was described as a white man who is between 29 and 30 years old with short, curly red hair, freckles and crooked teeth. He was last seen wearing reading glasses and is clean-shaven.

Anyone with information on the suspect was asked to call the sheriff's department at (858) 565-5200.

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