Giggling Glendale Groper Strikes Three Buttocks
Glendale police are searching for a man apparently celebrating the holiday season by grabbing female butts on city streets.
The Giggling Glendale Groper, as we here at LAist have dubbed him, has grabbed the buttocks of three young women. The victims' ages range from late teens to early twenties. Targeting "girls who are by themselves and not paying attention to their surroundings," Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz told Glendale News-Press, the suspect has approached his victims between the hours of 10:45pm and 1am on busy streets. Following his indecent maneuver, the groper runs away while laughing.
While we don't know what the suspect does by day, we do know that he moonlights as a twisted but merry rump enthusiast. On December 15, the suspect approached a woman on Columbus Avenue at Lexington Avenue around 11:58pm, grabbing her breasts and her butt. A similar incident occurred four days later to a woman in a parking lot on California and Maryland Avenues around 10:45pm. The victim reported that the man grabbed her buttocks with both hands while she was chatting on her cell phone and hunting for her car keys. He fled the scene, laughing. The following day a woman was walking home from work around 1am on the 800 block of North Glendale Boulevard when the man "touched her butt in a sweeping motion and laughed," per reports.
When the first victim attempted to push the suspect, he allegedly pulled her toward him and tried to push her to the ground. The third victim asked the man if he thought he was funny, and he then apologized and opted for a handshake.
Victims described the groper as Middle Eastern and 5'9" with dark hair and a thin build. Police, who hope the man's actions do not escalate, urge residents who spot a man matching the suspect's description to call the police.
Authorities have advised women to be aware of their surroundings, walk in pairs and carry a flashlight, cell phone or keys in their hands.
