Man tries to lure kids to build swing, police say.
Man tries to lure kids to build swing, police say
by Sherry Anne Rubiano - Mar. 28, 2009 11:27 AM
The Arizona Republic
Phoenix police are investigating reports of a man who attempted to lure children from their homes.
Police received two similar reports Wednesday about a man who approached children outside their homes and asked them for help to build a swing, said Lt. Kimberly Haller with the Phoenix Police Department.
Haller said the first incident was near Third and Glendale avenues. A man rode his bike up to a child in the front yard. He asked the child to help him build a swing. The child's
mother ran outside, and the man took off on his bike.
Ten minutes later, the same thing happened near First and Glendale avenues, Haller said. A man approached two children in front of their house. The children's mother got in her car and tried to chase the man but was unable to catch him.
Parents described the man as a White male, 5 feet 10 inches tall, and 55- to 60-years-old. He was riding a turquoise beach bike.
Haller said police are investigating.
Haller said parents should not let their children play outside alone.
"You should never leave your kids unsupervised in the first place," she said.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS (948-6377) or 480-TESTIGO (837-8446) for Spanish, or call 911 in an emergency.
Horrible, and a parents worst nightmare. Some Paedophile riding around on a bike looking to abduct young children. Deplorable.
Except it isn't true.
Police: Child predator call was a 'misunderstanding'.
Police: Child predator call was a 'misunderstanding'
119 comments
by Eddi Trevizo - Mar. 31, 2009 11:10 AM
The Arizona Republic
A child predator warning released last week was a misunderstanding and posed no threat to the community after all, Phoenix police said Monday night.
According to Phoenix police, the warning that was released to residents in a neighborhood near Glendale and Third avenues on March 25 was a mistake.
The incident actually involved a neighborhood resident who approached three children to ask where to find a neighborhood swing he had seen on his bike rides through the
neighborhood.
The man approached the children because he planned to build a swing for his wife, and not as a ruse to lure them from their homes as previously reported in a neighborhood warning, Phoenix police said in a press release.
The man and his wife were not home when the "possible predator" warning was sent to neighborhood residents on March 25. When they returned home the wife realized that the description of the man, and especially the bicycle, matched that of her husband. The woman immediately called the authorities, police said.
The man was planning to build a tree swing, Phoenix police said in a press release.
"Our officers are convinced that this was a mistake and some cautions are being discussed in the neighborhood to prevent this type mistake again," according to the release.
**Guilty until proven innocent. And only because a member of the privileged (read: "empowered") class vouched for his character.
ReplyDeleteThis is not at all unlike an ugly era of this country's history where blacks were not allowed to roam unescorted off of the plantation. At least not without "walking papers" (vouchers for their character).
Men in First World Societies are becoming marginalized, Zero Point Six style (where 0.6 equals 3/5). If things do not change, men will simply seek greener pastures. It's the logical next step in this (seemingly) unwinnable war between the sexes.
History repeats itself. Remarkable how the more things change, the more they remain the same, no?