JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After neighbors in Murray Hill expressed concerns about a man who they say has repeatedly exposed himself, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has told its officers to be on the lookout for the car that neighbors have seen.
A Murray Hill homeowner says his home security camera recorded the man pulling up to his home in the red car on Saturday morning. Moments later, the man is seen getting out of the car and performing a sex act. News4Jax has chosen not to show the man’s face because police have not identified or charged any suspect.
Prior to Saturday’s incident, a father called police after confronting the same man in the same car who he says followed him and then began performing a sex act.
After News4Jax aired a story Saturday night about those incidents, another neighbor came forward about an encounter. The mother of three told News4Jax that four weeks ago, she pulled into her driveway with her children and a man in a black car pulled up across the street in front of her driveway.
“Once I opened my door, the driver of that vehicle opened his door and exposed himself. I could see everything he wanted me to see, but none of the things he didn’t want me to see such as his face,” said the woman, who did not want to show her face on camera and did not wish to be named because she’s concerned about safety.
She says she yelled at him, threatened to call police and then pulled out her cellphone and took a photo of the car, but she was not able to get the license plate because he drove in reverse.
“He knew to go backward and not forward to turn around,” she said.
But she says she didn’t call police because she thought the picture wasn’t enough for investigators to go on without the license plate. News4Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson says that when you’re in these situations, always report it.
“Just because you have limited amount of information doesn’t mean the police can’t go on it. They may have additional information that they may add to your limited amount of information and effect an arrest,” Jefferson said.
While that incident involved a black car, not a red car like the last two encounters, Jefferson says it’s possible the man could be using rental cars.
Both Jefferson and a JSO spokesperson who News4Jax spoke with are urging neighbors to report anything they see -- regardless of how few details they may have -- and to let the police handle the matter.
Again, JSO has told its officers to be on the lookout for a car matching the description of the car seen in the video.