Sketch of man wanted for April 2009 indecent exposure cases
Myrtle Beach Police are investigating to see whether the same man could be responsible for four incidents of indecent exposure over the past two months.
The most recent occurences happened this past weekend at the Compass Cove Resort and the Sea Dip Motel on Ocean Boulevard.
On Sunday, two girls, 13 and 14 years old, were spending the day at the Compass Cove Resort pool when they noticed a man watching them.
They immediately gathered their belongings and headed to their parents' room, but the man caught up with them at the elevator, according to the police report.
He joined them for the ride to the second floor, where the report says he blocked the exit to the elevator and masturbated in front of them. The man left after one of the girls pulled out her phone and threatened to call the police.
NewsChannel 15 spoke with the mother of one of the girls.
She said the entire incident terrified the family.
"They thought he was going to kill them or rape them. They weren't sure exactly what his intentions were," she said.
She and her family left the beach Monday, but said what happened to her daughter will have long-lasting effects.
"I'm sure they're going to have anxiety about being by themselves, about getting on elevators, about going into places they normally wouldn't have a fear of going into."
According to police, the two girls over the weekend weren't the only ones to have a run-in with this man.
An incident of the same nature happened the day before at the Sea Dip Motel, and police think it was the same man.
An 18-year-old says she was waiting to get on the elevator when a man came to stand beside her. She told police that he was looking her up and down while in the elevator.
According to a police report, the man exited before the girl, but when she looked up after him she could see that he had pulled his blue swim trunks off and was masturbating. When she tried to push the button for the doors to close, the man pressed the button on the outside to keep the doors open while continuing to masturbate.
The report goes on to say she screamed at him, and he then let the doors close.
Although the Compass Cove Resort does have surveillance cameras, police have not yet found anything of use, although they continue to look through the video. The Sea Dip Motel does not have surveillance cameras.
The description given by the victims to police is as follows:
- White man between the ages of 25 and 35
- Between 5'8"-5'10"
- Weighing between 160-185 lbs.
- Receding hairline with brown to blonde hair
- Wearing blue swim trunks, no shirt, white sneakers
- Has a pot belly
- One of the girls said he had a large mole on his back.
In April, two young girls reported similar incidents -- one at the Captain's Quarters and the other at Hotel Blue. The girls reported a man following them into their hotel elevators before exposing himself to them. Those girls were able to give a description that resulted in a sketch given out by police.
Detective Tony Lever is investigating the cases from this past weekend and says he's concerned that one man could be involved in all of the cases. He worries the man may progress to more violent acts.
"What I'm worried about with a person like this (is) hopefully he won't progress to a higher step to a completed sexual assault," Lever said.
But psychologist Melissa Muse with Family Bridges who counsels sex offenders said while these "exhibitionist-type" offenders could progress to more violent acts, she said often they do not -- and that they are just looking for the thrill.
"It's about the shock value for them," Muse said.
If you have any information about these cases, please call the Myrtle Beach Police Department at (843) 918-1382.
