West Seattle Crime Watch: Flasher reported near Alki park

We received two reports about this tonight, the most detailed one from Greg:

Wanted to share this for the benefit of parents and children in the Alki neighborhood. This afternoon a neighbor’s 5th grader and friend of the same age were followed as they walked home from Whale Tail Park along Lander to get something to bring back to the park. The child’s home is about 3 blocks from the park. The stalker was 30ish with a hoodie and stubbly beard. He lingered across the street from the house for a few minutes. When he was gone, the kids headed back to Whale Tail Park to join my wife, who was waiting there for them. On the way back to the park they were confronted by the same man along Lander in the block just east of the park in some bushes along the sidewalk. The man was exposing himself. The kids ran to the park and told my wife who was their waiting for them. She looked for the man but he was gone. She found somebody at the park to call the police who later came to our neighbor’s house and interviewed the child.

We just checked with police to see if they have any more on this; Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams says officers searched the area after answering a 911 call around 4 pm about the flasher, but couldn’t find the suspect, who is described in the police report as “about 30-years-old, possibly with a mustache and closely-shaved beard, and wearing a black hoodie and pale blue jeans.”

22 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Flasher reported near Alki park"

  • J September 29, 2011 (10:49 pm)

    I was walking along the bike path on Alki a month back (around 10am on a Sunday), and witnessed a younger man about 25-30 watching people play volleyball exposing himself. He was right on the sidewalk and was not discrete in hiding it. Called the police and saw they had him about a half hour later for questioning. Not sure if he is the same guy.

    Hopefully police will put two and two together and consider questioning the other man. Just seems too coincidental.

  • Alki resident September 29, 2011 (10:55 pm)

    Just started letting my kids go there alone with friends.It pisses me off kids cant be kids anymore.Always having to watch their backs for creepers.Id love to hear a better description of him.

  • kayo September 30, 2011 (6:19 am)

    Yikes. My kids like to play in those bushes. I guess not anymore. Hope this creep is caught soon!

  • tk September 30, 2011 (7:17 am)

    Alki is a friggin tourist spot. Nothing home-townish about it anymore!

  • AH Neighbor September 30, 2011 (8:50 am)

    Thanks to vigilant people – who also engage our terrific WSB community – we do have a fighting chance of hanging onto our home town.

  • sacatosh September 30, 2011 (9:36 am)

    re “kids can’t be kids anymore”: I was a child in the 70’s, and this happened back then, too. It has always happened, and will always continue to happen as long as creepy people get their rocks off by exposing themselves.

    Of course I’m sorry that the kids had to see it and I hope they catch this idiot.

  • Gretchen September 30, 2011 (11:50 am)

    Sounds like a very similar description to the man who flashed my nieces in front of my house this summer (44th ave by PCC); 30ish, black hoodie/light jeans, distinct dark facial hair. He walked right down our street in the middle of the day and flashed them while they were writing “I love summer” w/ their side walk chalk. I hope he’s caught soon.

  • as-if September 30, 2011 (12:48 pm)

    Yes, I think the guy is a total perv, and he should be picked up before he does something harmful. I think that there is such a thing as indecent exposure, and we need to protect our children from such sights that are forced upon them, and us.
    So tell me, why am I supposed to accept a whole group of, in your face bike riders exposing themselves to me and my family, but not this lone pervert? As-if there is a double standard going on here again. I mean if this disturbed individual could just wait for the nude bike ride, then he would be seen as normal, I guess. He would even get honks of encouragement I’m sure.

  • Jo Parsons September 30, 2011 (1:03 pm)

    This is scary stuff. Pedophiles hang around places where children play. This happened when I was a child in the 1950’s. I’m afraid these disturbed people have always been around. I’m thrilled that today’s children are better prepared to recognize abnormal behavior and report it to their parents.

  • Jim P. September 30, 2011 (1:18 pm)

    Left out a critical detail: White? Black? Brown? Indigo? Plaid?

    Helps in eliminating large swathes of possibles and nothing to do with any given color doing this more.

    Don’t be so politically sensitive you leave out major bits of info.

    • WSB September 30, 2011 (2:11 pm)

      Jim, neither I nor the police report has that info. If you have read this site for more than a short time, you know we include any descriptive information that is available, much to some criticism on occasion if the ONLY descriptive information involves skin color/ethnicity. Key word here, “available” and at this point it’s not. – TR

  • enviromaven September 30, 2011 (1:43 pm)

    @ as-if: There’s a difference between nudity and sexual perversion. A flasher exposing himself to children in order to get a thrill is inappropriate (to say the least) and illegal. A group of nude cyclists – while not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea – are participating in an event that’s pre- planned and publicized with plenty of notice. If you don’t want to see them, don’t go. You (and your family) are in no way obligated to accept them. But comparing that with the actions of a lone pervert who uses the element of surprise for added – and disgusting – shock value is painting with a very wide brush.

  • as-if - NOT September 30, 2011 (1:43 pm)

    There is a difference. We all know that the solstice parade has nude bike riders. We know where they will be (roughly) and we know when. It happens ONE DAY A YEAR. We can choose to go see them if we wish or stay away if we wish. The riders often paint their bodies in colorful body paints. They are riding bikes. Please remind me how this is the same thing as some pervert getting their rocks off exposing themselves on purpose to unsuspecting citizens at the time and place of their own choosing. While you are at it why not compare breast feeding mothers to women in a strip club or any other number of ludicrous comparisons? While we are at it, let’s chop off all the naughty bits from the famous statues around the world – oh wait, that’s already been done before.

  • Gold Five September 30, 2011 (1:45 pm)

    Stay on target!

  • WTF September 30, 2011 (2:13 pm)

    Catch this guy before his deviant behavior escalates. Dang!!

    if, are you referring to the Fremont Solstice Parade? if not, what are you referring to? If so, in a word, seriously?!

  • Vanessa September 30, 2011 (3:12 pm)

    memo to self: buy pocket taser.

  • WTF September 30, 2011 (4:21 pm)

    Venessa I like the way you think. I was planning more on the lines of pocket knife.

  • guacala September 30, 2011 (7:10 pm)

    Sickening. Where can our children go to play safely if not a park, during broad daylight?
    I hope this guy gets caught soon

  • JN September 30, 2011 (7:50 pm)

    Yes, please stay on topic! This guy sounds like a real pervert, and I hope the police are able to apprehend him soon. Exposing yourself to anyone is extremely disgusting, but children? This is unacceptable.

  • Steve October 5, 2011 (6:11 pm)

    Or a pocket pistol

  • Alki Resident October 11, 2011 (3:49 pm)

    Thanks for this sketch,a much better thing to have in a case like this.I’ll be on the lookout.

  • Rick October 24, 2011 (7:15 pm)

    I think that it is also up to the parents to teach their children to yell and scream if they see something like that. When a sexual pervert is out on the prowl the last thing that he wants is to have attention drawn to him. In my experience in the Security Field it is most common to have someone run if loud noises are going on in the area that that person is in. Also remember to tell your children that if they are uncomfortable around someone that they need to get away from that area as soon as possible. It makes me sick to think that their are people that think of children as a sexual object. I know that if we all do our part to help that we can make Alki a safe area for children to go to the wonderful parks that we have in this area.

Sorry, comment time is over.