On Wednesday, September 28, 2011, at 3:09 pm, St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to the 1900 block of Cambridge Drive in LaPlace when the mother of a 13 year old girl reported to authorities that a male subject tried to grab her daughter when she got off the school bus. The girl told deputies, as she was walking home after getting off the bus, a strange man stepped from behind a tree, grabbed her arm, and said, “Little girl come here.†She pulled away, ran home, and told her mother what happened.
The girl gave deputies a detailed description of the man. He was approximately 5 foot, 7 inches tall and had a high faded hair cut. He had a dark mark, possibly a mole, on the top of his right hand. The man spoke with a deep voice and wore a glass or diamond earring in his left ear. He was wearing an orange shirt and dark blue jeans. Deputies canvassed the area looking for the man to no avail.
As a precautionary measure, Sheriff Jones ordered extra patrols in the Cambridge Subdivision. Though this incident is the only such incident reported, parents of children that ride school buses may err on the side of caution and have someone greet children getting off busses.
Deputies noted that, in general, the neighborhood has plenty vehicular traffic, and pedestrians walk about. Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office Detectives at 985-359-8769 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.