Man made lewd comments to girl, 11, in Lake Grove
A 28-year-old man was arrested and charged with child endangerment after police said he made "sexual propositions" to an 11-year-old girl on her way home from school Tuesday in Lake Grove.
Suffolk County police said the girl was walking home from Selden Middle School when the man, identified as Zachary Chase of Lake Grove, "ran up behind" her at about 3:25 p.m. and began making lewd comments.
Police said the girl ran home and told family members, who called 911.
Meanwhile, police said Chase fled in a motor vehicle, which he crashed into a pole, before being arrested at his home about five hours later following an investigation by Sixth Squad detectives. Police did not detail what led investigators to identify Chase as the suspect.
The girl was not physically harmed in the incident, police said
Chase was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident.
He was held overnight at the Sixth Precinct and faces arraignment Wednesday in First District Court in Central Islip.
It was not immediately clear if he was represented by counsel.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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