Salt Lake police are looking for a man who raped a girl Monday and sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl days earlier.
A third girl - a 5-year-old girl - ran away from the man and is the only one of the three that was not kidnapped.All three girls were walking on the sidewalk - one was on her way to school - when a man approached them and tried to entice them into his vehicle.
"Our concern is there may be more (incidents) out there that haven't been reported," said Salt Lake Police Lt. Jim Jensen. "We have reason to believe all three cases are probably the same suspect."
- The latest incident occurred about 9 a.m. Monday. A 15-year-old North Redwood girl was in front of her home when a man walked past her on the sidewalk. After a while, the man turned around and asked the girl if she had seen his dog, a Salt Lake police report states.
The girl said the description sounded similar to a dog she had seen earlier in the area and he asked her to go with him to look for it. The girl said she had to let her parents know where she was going, but the man replied, "No, just come with me."
The suspect drove the girl to a field near the airport. While there, he pulled her to the ground and raped her, the report states.
The girl said she kept telling the man no and said, "I'm too young for this." She said the suspect replied, "So?"
The victim, who has a learning disability, appears younger than she is and has that "under-12 look that this guy seems to be looking for," the detective said.
- On Aug. 5, a man pulled up next to a 9-year-old girl near 600 East and 500 South and asked her to come over to his car. The girl told him no, that she had to go to school.
The man then got out and forced her into his vehicle. He drove the girl to a park and tried to rape her underneath some trees, said detective Jim Chandler.
The girl tried to resist by holding onto a tree, but the man pried her off and sexually assaulted her.
- The youngest girl approached that police know about, the 5-year-old, was walking near 1700 East and 600 South about 12:30 p.m. two days earlier when a man approached the girl in a vehicle and asked her if she would help him fix a toy for his 2-year-old.
The girl shrugged, then ran off when he asked her to get into his car. The girl said she later saw the man approach one of her friends.
The suspect is described as a white male about 30, with light-colored short curly hair. He wore wire frame prescription glasses and drives a red or maroon car. The car had a baby seat in the back during at least one assault.
Chandler cautioned parents to keep a close eye on their children and not allow them to go anywhere alone. And to the children, the detective repeated the old adage: "Don't talk to strangers."
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Salt Lake police at 799-3000.