Delta police are warning the public after two women reported separate incidents involving a man masturbating in a wooded area by the George Mackie Library.
In the first report, a woman contacted police around 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21 about a man she witnessed masturbating on the trail between the George Massey Library and North Delta Community Park. The man was described as South Asian and wearing all black clothing.
Multiple officers conducted patrols in the area, but as there was a delay between the alleged incident and when it was reported, police did not see anyone matching the suspect’s description.
That same day, a second woman contacted police shortly after 10 p.m. to report a man possibly masturbating in the park, close to the trees. She indicated the man was South Asian, approximately 5’ 7” tall, around 25 years old, and wearing a dark hoodie and jeans.
Officers again patrolled the area but were not able to find any suspects.
“We’re going to have a higher police presence in the area over the next while,” Insp. Ciaran Feenan, head of the Delta Police Department’s patrol section, said in a press release. “Please, if you spot anyone committing what you suspect is an indecent act, call 911 as soon as possible so police can respond quickly.”
Police are advising the public to take additional precautions when walking or running in the area, such as walking with another person and carrying a cell phone.
The DPD’s investigation into these incidents is ongoing.
The incidents on Oct. 21 are reminiscent of two that took place in the same area earlier this year.
On the afternoon of Jan. 23, a teenage girl came across a man allegedly touching himself in the same stretch of woods. The man was described as South Asian, about six feet tall, with a slim build, short brown hair and wearing a green jacket.
Eight days later, police received a second report of an indecent act, this time in nearby North Delta Community Park.
Police said a woman was sitting with her young daughter watching another child’s soccer practice the evening of Jan. 31 when a man approached her and, from the other side of a chain link fence, began to masturbate. The woman yelled out to alert people nearby, and the man ran off.
The man in that incident was described as South Asian, approximately 30 years old, with a slim build, black hair and wearing a red hoodie.
Police were unable at the time to confirm whether the two incidents were related, and have not indicated either are connected to the incidents that occurred this week.
READ MORE: Police release sketch of suspect in North Delta indecent act (March 11, 2020)
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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