LOCAL: In two separate scenarios, male suspects attempted to grab teenage girls; one was luckily able to escape, while the other was not so fortunate.
By Dyala Harb, Staff Writer
Two disturbances recently occurred in Riverside within two days of each other. The first of the two incidents occurred on Saturday, September 19th near Strong Street and Fairmount Boulevard at around three o’clock in the afternoon. A Hispanic, five-foot-two male approached the 14-year-old victim from behind, managing to get her into an unoccupied location where he violated the young girl. The man was described as brawny with dark, short hair. The suspect also has a scar beneath his left eye and wore sunglasses at the time of the assault.
In a similar situation occurring two days later, the victim was able to get away safely and unharmed. Poly Principal Dr. Michael Roe disclosed that the student did absolutely everything she should have in that type of situation, further explaining that “safety is the number one concern.” On Monday, September 21st, at the intersection of Sedgewick and 9th street, an African American man attempted to grab a 16-year-old female and pull her into his truck. While walking to school, the student noticed the white truck slow to a stop and the man exit the van. The student got out of the man’s grasp and ran away quickly. The man was identified to be around the age of 30, and was wearing a green shirt and a baseball cap.
Roe and the Poly staff have been working to spread the news of these horrific events, making sure students remain alert and be as careful as possible. Roe asserted that safety should be the primary concern, emphasizing that in cases such as these, “the first priority is to get out of the situation as fast as possible.” He explained that these types of situations affect him on a personal level as well, saying, “I’m not just a principal; I’m a parent.” Moreover, he insisted that we all have a “collective consciousness of those in our society with different intentions.” Roe concluded by announcing that “the Riverside Police Department has been relentless in doing their part to identify the suspect.”
Assault and kidnap may be touchy subjects, but for the safety of our community, it is absolutely necessary that everyone is made aware of these types of incidents. Confrontations including sexual assault, physical assault and child abduction occur every day. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “Teenagers were by far the most frequent victims of both stereotypical kidnappings and nonfamily abductions.” The U.S. Department of Justice also revealed that “Approximately 1.8 million adolescents in the United States have been the victims of sexual assault.” By making the public aware of these recent happenings, we will be able to make our society a much safer environment for everyone.
A student at Poly also acknowledged the importance of being made aware of these incidents, declaring, “I think it’s imperative that students at Poly are aware of these situations because no matter what part of town we live in, it’s entirely possible for us to be put in a similar situation.” The community may not be able to completely prevent incidents such as these from occurring, but making others aware of these situations will definitely help reduce the chances of them taking place.