Advertisement

Deputies searching for bicyclist accused of touching girls in Palm Harbor

 
Composite sketches of the bicyclist accused of groping females in Palm Harbor.
Composite sketches of the bicyclist accused of groping females in Palm Harbor.
Published April 28, 2015

PALM HARBOR — Authorities are searching for a man seen riding a black BMX bicycle who touched one woman and two underage girls in the last two months near Carwise Middle School.

In a news conference Monday, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the first incident happened March 24 when a 16-year-old girl who attends Palm Harbor University High School was jogging near Carwise, at 3301 Bentley Drive, and saw a man on a bike.

Near the intersection of Alderman Road and Cinnamon Hill Boulevard, the man rode behind the girl and grabbed her breast, Gualtieri said. The man fell, but quickly got back on his bike and rode off.

On April 4, a 41-year-old woman was jogging and saw a man riding a BMX bicycle near the same intersection. He jumped out of a row of bushes a few minutes later and tried to pull her shorts down. The woman struck him and he fell to the ground and ran away.

The first victim later reported seeing the same man again April 12 as he left the Bentley at Cobbs Landing, a condo complex next to Carwise.

But the suspect became more brazen Friday when he approached a 12-year-old girl heading home from Carwise, the sheriff said. The man on the bike pulled the girl's skirt up, touched her buttocks and sped off.

"He does seem to be escalating," Gualtieri said. "The guy is a creep and we need to get him off the street."

All of the victims are petite and have brown hair. Since the April 4 incident, detectives have conducted hundreds of hours of surveillance and some undercover detectives went jogging in the area to draw the suspect out. Deputies have also canvassed neighborhoods and visited the Bentley complex.

On Monday, the Pinellas school district sent out messages to parents of Carwise students and additional patrols began outside the school in the mornings and during dismissal.

The suspect is a white man between the ages of 18 and 30, the Sheriff's Office said. He weighs about 170 pounds and was reported to have collar-length brown hair. In the latest case, he had short, dirty blond hair.

Officials are asking anyone with information to call Det. Diana Bergman at (727) 582-5713.

Contact Laura C. Morel at lmorel@tampabay.com.