Man arrested for exposure, assault following three days of harassing women
Gig Harbor police say they arrested a 32-year-old man Wednesday who had been sexually harassing women over several days, culminating in an incident in which he exposed himself to a woman in a Gig Harbor parking lot.
That woman managed to get his license plate number, and police traced the car to the man’s workplace, where he was arrested on April 28. After he made bail, police arrested him a second time.
The man told police he had only been trying to bring the woman “the word of God.”
Police chief Kelly Busey told The Gateway that his department was concerned about the trajectory of incidents.
“We were worried about his escalating behavior, even over those three days,” Busey said.
Police say the first incident took place on Monday, April 26 at 12:30 p.m., when the suspect followed an 18-year-old woman from a gas station on Wollochet Drive in Gig Harbor to a nearby school. The woman reported that he made a sexually suggestive comment before departing.
Around the same time Tuesday afternoon, a 17-year-old girl reported that she was being followed after leaving a business near Borgen Boulevard in Gig Harbor. She said the man pursued her in a vehicle that police said appeared to match the one from the day before. She drove to a location she thought would be safe, only for the man to drive alongside and threaten to sexually assault her.
Got his license plate
On Wednesday afternoon near Point Fosdick Drive in Gig Harbor, police say the same man exposed himself to a 35-year-old woman sitting in her car in a parking lot.
Police reports say that after the woman declined the suspect’s advances, he asked her to shake his hand. She agreed, hoping it would get him to go away. But the suspect grabbed her hand and would not let her go. The woman said that with his other hand, he unzipped his pants and exposed himself. The woman was eventually able to free her hand and locked herself into her own vehicle. The suspect then ran to his own vehicle parked nearby.
The woman took a photo of his license plate as he drove away, and police used the plate to track him to his Gig Harbor workplace, where he was arrested.
Police say the man admitted to the three incidents and was booked into jail on charges of assault in the fourth degree with sexual motivation and indecent exposure.
‘Internal desires’
Police say the suspect explained that he was trying to bring the woman “the word of God” and that his struggles with his “religious faith” conflicting with “internal desires” caused him to “lose self-control.” Police say the suspect told them he had originally been in the parking lot to “pray” and that he approached the woman just to “share my faith.”
Police say the suspect became scared after he exposed himself and knew he “did something wrong” which led to him flee.
He was held on an initial $1,500 bond that he would make later that night. Police say they then petitioned the Gig Harbor Municipal Court to conduct a bond review. The suspect was arrested again and that a judge increased his bond to $25,100.
“We went to the judge and indicated that we believe he is an escalating public safety risk and asked that the judge issue a warrant to have him remanded for a proper bail hearing,” Busey said Thursday morning.
What to do
Busey said women approached or harassed should seek safety and call 911.
“If someone feels that they’re being approached by someone who makes them feel uncomfortable, try to remove yourself safely from the situation and get to a populated area, a safe area,” Busey said. “If you’re able to call 911 to report something like that, let the dispatchers know what is going on and we will gladly respond.”
Persons with information about these or similar incidents may contact Det. Tray Federici at (253) 853-2421.
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 1:08 PM.
