Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 12, 1992 TAG: 9203120275
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Tuesday morning, for the second time in two weeks, a strange man drove past her several times and stared as she walked to a schoolmate's house.
"He just came by real slow," she said. "I'm really paranoid now. He hasn't made a move yet. That's not to say he wouldn't if he got someone alone."
Bennett, 13, shares the concerns of other children at the Southwest Roanoke school, police said. Since December, Roanoke police have received about a dozen complaints about the man.
"This guy is a scumbag who terrorizes children and gets his jollies," said Lt. Jerry Dean, who runs the department's youth bureau.
So far, the man has broken no laws.
"When he breaks the law, we'll do something about it," Dean said.
Breaking the law wouldn't be out of character for the man, whom police already have identified, Dean said. He said he cannot release the man's name unless he is charged.
"He says he knows his rights," Dean said. "He says it's a free country."
But on at least two occasions in the past decade the man was arrested in Memphis, Tenn., for abducting or attempting to abduct children, Dean said.
In September 1983, the man was arrested after being accused of trying to get a 9-year-old girl into his car as she crossed a street. The girl was able to identify the man from a description given out by school officials, Dean said. The police did not know the outcome of that case.
In May 1988, he was accused of picking up a 3-year-old girl and telling her he was going to take her to a convenience store. That case was dropped because the victim "wasn't verbal," Dean said.
A Memphis judge ordered the man to get out of town. In 1989, he was convicted in Roanoke for making obscene phone calls to a girl and received a 12-month suspended sentence, Dean said.
Tim Bennett, Emily's father, said Wednesday that he's frustrated by the lack of information parents are receiving about the man. He plans to present his concerns to the Raleigh Court Civic League tonight.
"I think the school should have notified the parents," he said. "I don't know if the decision was made at the school or downtown. Whoever made the decision, it's not right."
Bennett said he contacted Woodrow Wilson PTA President Margaret Martin after learning that his daughter had been followed by the man for the second time. He said Martin told him that she had received no notice about the man's harassing pupils.
"I didn't let either one of my children walk to school today," Martin said. "It's a scary feeling."
Woodrow Wilson Principal Kay Duffy said the man started coming around the school about the middle of last year, but slacked off for a while. She said she wanted to make sure it was him before putting out a notice and unduly alarming parents.
"I wanted to do what was in the best interest of the community," she said. "I had to have concrete proof before putting out a notice."
That proof came Tuesday when Ray Lewis, a school resource officer, stopped the man's car and identified him.
Duffy told pupils Wednesday to beware of the man and call authorities if they spot him.
A city youth bureau detective, who asked not to be named, said the emotional trauma on the children has been significant.
"They have changed their daily routines," he said. "They have chosen not to go outside and exercise because they are afraid."
by CNB