Cops: Homeless man charged with stalking several girls in Freeport

A 30-year-old homeless man was arrested Tuesday by Freeport police after several incidents in which authorities said he followed and approached girls near schools.

Edwin A. Bonilla, 30, was arrested about 7:15 a.m. after a Freeport police officer observed him following two girls on Pine Street near Dodd Junior High School, according to a news release.

He was charged with four counts of fourth-degree stalking, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and false personation. In First District Court in Hempstead, he was held on $5,000 bond and a temporary order of protection was issued, according to court records.

Police said Bonilla approached a girl on Oct. 1 at 7:30 a.m. on South Main Street, asked for her name and number and grabbed her hand before she got away.

Two days later, at 6:40 a.m., police said, Bonilla put his arm around another girl at the corner of Pine Street and Guy Lombardo Avenue. She was able to get away.

On Oct. 7 at about 7:30 a.m., Bonilla followed a girl on East Merrick Road and asked her for her name and address as she walked to school, police said. On Friday at 7 a.m., Bonilla ran after a girl walking to school on Juanita Avenue, police said, and only stopped after he saw a school security guard.