One of the two men wanted for groping young girls in Queens used a dog to make them feel comfortable, police said. The other man was seen spitting his drink on a girl walking to school. NBC New York’s Marc Santia reports.
A man accused of spitting on a young girl in Queens and then groping her as he went to clean it off was arrested and faces a sex crime charge, according to police.
The alleged incident occurred Friday just after 8 a.m. near 71st Street and 54th Avenue in Maspeth. Police said a man approached a 12-year-old girl walking to school and spat his drink onto her. While appearing to clean up the mess he made, the suspect grabbed the girl's backside.
The man then attempted to sexually assault another 12-year-old girl moments later using the same ruse, according to police.
Kadeem Laguerre was arrested Wednesday and charged with first-degree sexual abuse in connection to the incident, police said. Attorney information for the 27-year-old Laguerre was not immediately available.
That groping incident was the second in just a span of days in the same area of Queens, as the suspects allegedly preyed on young girls on their way to school.
The other incident also involved preteen girls two days earlier, on Sept. 18, when a man used a dog to entice the girls into a conversation" while on a city bus in Elmhurst, according NYPD Chief John Chell.
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The unidentified man carrying a chihuahua approached an 11-year-old girl on a crowded Q58 MTA bus around 7:30 a.m. and allegedly put his hands on her chest. Then, less than 10 minutes later, police said he inappropriately grabbed another 11-year-old girl.
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In both instances, police said he used the small dog to make the children feel comfortable. After the second groping on the bus, police said the man hopped off around 72nd Street and Grand Avenue and headed north.
"This man is intentionally using a puppy to sexually abuse girls on the way to school, on a bus," Chell told NBC New York.
The suspect in that incident aboard the city bus has not yet been caught. Images of the suspect released by the NYPD show the man with curly hair who's approximately 30 to 45 years old, and he was last seen carrying around the dog. He was wearing a black baseball cap, yellow jacket and black sweatpants.
"Predatorial, dangerous, and common denominator: young girls going to school," a disgusted Chell said. "This is the M.O. of a sexual predator. This is a parent's worst nightmare."
The NYPD is increasing police resources across the community and also encouraging parents to speak to their children about the two men suspected in the incidents. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.
