Police Arrest Teen In Lewd Incident Involving Victim In Her 70s

PALO ALTO, CA --A 17-year-old boy allegedly committed lewd conduct in front of an elderly woman walking her dogs in Palo Alto earlier this year, police said Tuesday.

The East Palo Alto teen was identified as a suspect late last month in the April 25 encounter in the 400 block of Melville Avenue, just a block north of Embarcadero Road, police said.

The dispatch center received a call around 4 p.m. on April 26 from the woman in her 70s who reported she believed she saw someone masturbating a day before between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., police said.

The woman had been walking her dog east on Melville Avenue and noticed the suspect was following her, according to police.

When she stopped on a driveway to let the suspect pass by, she saw he had a jacket that was over his hands and covered his groin, police said.

One of his hands moved in a "rhythmic motion" and she suspected he was masturbating, according to police.

Investigators identified the 17-year-old boy as the suspect and sent the case to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, which "sustained a petition" against him for a misdemeanor count of lewd conduct late last month, police said.

There's no evidence connecting the teen with a March 14 indecent exposure case on the same street, where a male suspect flashed a 13-year-old girl as she walked her dogs, according to police.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call police dispatch at (650) 329-2413. Those who wish to remain anonymous may send an email to paloalto@tipnow.org or send a text message or voicemail to (650)
383-8984.

• Also see: Child Molestation Suspect Extradited To Peninsula From Utah

--Bay City News/File photo