Police searching for man who exposed himself to little girls

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- There is another case of stranger danger. Two 12-year-old girls said on Monday afternoon that a man started following them as they walked home, then unzipped his pants and started touching himself.

It happened in broad daylight at the corner of Bowman and Carroll Streets on South Bend's Southeast side, just feet from Riley High School.

The neighborhood is full of kids who are all enjoying the last few weeks of their summer vacation. Since it has been cooler the last couple of days, more kids can be seen outside.

That is why parents in this neighborhood say they are keeping a closer eye on their kids.

"If it ain't my grand-kids, it's somebody else's kids,” said Alonzo Johnson.

Johnson has lived on the city's Southeast for a few years now and always looks out for the kids in the area. Now, he said he is paying even closer attention. Johnson has eight grandchildren, including two granddaughters the same age as two girls targeted on his street Monday.

"You have got to be really sick to want someone to set there and watch it,” said Johnson.

Johnson said he was disgusted and concerned when he found out a man exposed himself just down the street from where he lives.

The girls told police they were walking down the street when a stranger whistled at them and called them over to where he was standing. The girls ignored the man and kept walking. That is when the girls say the man stepped out from between two houses and then started following them. Then the girls say he started playing with himself.

Since then, Johnson said he has started patrolling the neighborhood and is on the lookout for any suspicious people or cars hanging around the area.

Johnson said his grandchildren are not allowed to be outside by themselves anymore because of what happened.

"You are messing with harmless kids now. You are messing with someone that can't defend themselves," said Johnson.

Witnesses told police they saw an older red, Chevy truck speed out of a nearby alley where the man was last seen. Kids in the neighborhood also told police they remember seeing the exact same truck around the neighborhood the day before.