A man reportedly approached a young student heading to an elementary school in Oceanside, made inappropriate comments and exposed himself, Oceanside Unified School District officials said.
The incident happened Monday morning when the young girl was walking to school, said Lisa Contreras, Director of Communications at Oceanside Unified School District.
The student reported being approached on the way to Lincoln Elementary School by a man, a letter sent to parents at Lincoln, Palmquist and South Oceanside Elementary Schools, said.
"The man made inappropriate comments and exposed himself to the student," the letter sent to parents read.
One day after that email was sent out, another girl reported seeing a similar man exposing himself near the Sprinter Station, near Crouch Street.
The suspect is described as a 30-40 year old man who was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans and a black, military-style hat with gold stars on the front.
At the time of the incident, the man was inside a white van with a bicycle rack on the back of it, or on the top of the van.
Local
Police are asking anyone who sees someone matching this description on or near the campus to not approach the man and instead call 911 and inform school staff.
"The student did the right thing by running away and reporting the incident to school staff. The parents of the student have been notified and we are cooperating fully with law enforcement" read a letter, in part, sent to parents.
The school recommends that parents talk to their children about how to handle similar situations.
"If somebody that you don't know approaches you and asks you to come to their car, or asks you to help them find their puppy, or do you want some candy," said Lincoln Elementary School Principal Steve Bessant. "All those entry lines that creepy people use, we tell them to say no in a loud voice, flee as fast as they can and find a trusted adult to tell."
News of the incident worried parents in the neighborhood.
Parent Joey Delia said it's important to teach your children how to handle those situations.
"The awareness has to be with the child," Delia said. "They have to know because they are going to end up in any incident. If you coddle them too much. they won't have the skills to function."
