West Seattle Crime Watch: Middle-school student groped in Admiral

(MOST RECENT UPDATE 3:54 PM – scroll down)

2:35 PM: Another attack on a local student – this time in the Admiral area. From SPD Blotter:

Police are searching West Seattle for a man who groped a middle school student Thursday as she was on her way to school.

School officials called police around 11 AM after a student reported that a man had followed her off a bus near California Avenue and SW Stevens Street and grabbed her from behind.

The suspect is described as a black male, in his mid 20’s, with short dreadlocks, wearing a black sweatshirt and black jeans. He reportedly boarded a bus in the West Seattle Junction neighborhood after the incident. Seattle Police are working with King County Metro Police and school officials to identify the man and ensure the safety of students.

If you witnessed this incident or have any information about the suspect, please call 911.

This happened two days after an attack on a student at Westwood Village – here’s the report on that.

ADDED 2:51 PM: We’ve just obtained the letter sent home by the principal of Madison Middle School:

Dear Madison Middle School Families,

We want to share with you information right away regarding an incident that was reported this morning involving one of our scholars on her way to school.

At approximately 10:20am a female scholar was followed from the Metro bus stop at McDonalds and California west on Stevens by a man who approached her from behind and grabbed her.  He was described as an African man in his early 20’s or 30’s, thin build, with short curly hair. Our scholar turned and yelled at him, and he ran back toward PCC on California. She proceeded to school and immediately reported the incident to school staff. Madison administration notified the family and the Seattle Police Department, who are actively investigating.

The safety of our scholars is our top priority. We are continuing to coordinate with the SW Precinct Captain to discuss the safety and their increased policing efforts. We will continue to collaborate with the Seattle Police Department and Seattle Public Schools Safety and Security to help monitor the surrounding area.

You can help your children stay safe by talking to them about personal safety. Tips to discuss are:

 Walking in pairs or groups and being aware of their surroundings at all times.

 Leaving for school at times where there are high levels of pedestrian traffic.

 Immediately reporting anything suspicious to trusted adults (school staff and family members).

 Keep earbuds off and expensive phones or other items out of sight.

More tips and information can be found on the Seattle Police Department website:
seattle.gov/police/prevention/child/default.htm.

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert Gary, Principal
Madison Middle School

3:55 PM UPDATE: Just talked to SPD spokesperson Det. Drew Fowler. No arrest so far. He says police are aware that the descriptions in this incident and the Tuesday Westwood Village incident are similar, and the same detective is handling both cases – so again, if you have any information, please call 911.

15 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Middle-school student groped in Admiral"

  • Andi April 23, 2015 (2:44 pm)

    Wonder if it’s the same guy from Westwood the other day. Our girls (and children in general) deserve to be safe on their way to school.

  • Amber April 23, 2015 (2:45 pm)

    Could this be the same person as Tuesdays incident

    • WSB April 23, 2015 (2:47 pm)

      As soon as I get back to HQ (we’ve been covering the affordable-housing forum and that’s why we didn’t see this on SPD Blotter right away, THANK YOU to the reader who did e-mail to ask about it) I’ll be calling SPD and that will be one of the questions, if it’s being investigated as related. We’re also checking with SPS about whether local students are getting a letter home – in the case at Westwood the other day, for example, that letter provided more information than the initial police report did. (If someone has already received one, please consider sharing it with us at editor@westseattleblog.com – it is NOT automatically provided to us or other media for that matter – thanks.) – TR

  • Dustin April 23, 2015 (2:51 pm)

    They should be able to identify him since the bus has camera’s. Hope they get this damn creep!

    • WSB April 23, 2015 (2:55 pm)

      The district answered my request for the school’s letter quickly. It’s added above.

  • parent April 23, 2015 (3:41 pm)

    Something similar happened earlier this year to a student at Madison (reported in the WSB).
    .
    It’s sad our kids can’t even walk to various schools in the area with out being robbed or stalked or groped or flashed.
    .
    Lets hope metro cameras got a photo of this guy and that he is arrested soon.

  • parent April 23, 2015 (3:47 pm)

    Are police still patroling the schools in the morning? I haven’t seen them but if someone has, please let us know. I seem to remember at the safety meeting on March 18th that SPD was bumping up patrols to help after the March 3rd incident.

    https://westseattleblog.com/2015/03/safety-alert-circulated-to-madison-parents-student-grabbed-harassed/

    https://westseattleblog.com/2015/03/keeping-kids-safe-madison-ms-ptsa-hosting-meeting-tomorrow/

  • parent April 23, 2015 (3:49 pm)

    I commented above before I realized you had commented a few minutes earlier, WSB. Thanks.

  • Luke April 23, 2015 (6:53 pm)

    So I go to Madison and this is honestly really messed up, I hope they catch him

  • Comment April 23, 2015 (11:10 pm)

    Like the previous comments said, this should be an easy job for the police considering the bus cameras.

  • T Rex April 24, 2015 (9:07 am)

    Luke,

    Encourage your fellow students to look after each other, do not walk alone, the more people that are around the less likely this creep will try anything.

    Keep your eyes open and if you think you see something don’t be afraid to report it. There is no such thing as too much information.

    And defend yourself and your fellow students if you have too. MAKE NOISE!

  • MS April 25, 2015 (7:41 am)

    Cameras…cameras…cameras!!! Anybody against having them should really think about the trade off of some over developed sense of privacy and law enforcement. Let’s give them the tools the need to catch these PsOS! I have a beautiful 12yo daughter about to go into high school in WS and I just want to move to Bellevue for her safety and my sanity. That’s pathetic. With the taxes we pay we shouldn’t feel this way. Maybe cameras everywhere isn’t the solution but maybe someone can tell me a better one?

  • MS April 25, 2015 (7:43 am)

    Ok – I got another one. Arm kids with Tasers. Is that illegal? Check’m in before going to class?

  • Ant May 10, 2015 (10:40 am)

    13 year old boys and Tasers.. What could possibly go wrong?

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