Girl Says Teen Acted Inappropriately at Teddy Bear Park in Stillwater

A Baytown Township mother is hoping to make parents aware of an incident that occurred this week at in downtown Stillwater.

While the mother was at with her two children at about 3:40 p.m. Monday, she reported that her 7-year-old daughter was approached by a teenage boy who made comments that made the girl feel uncomfortable, Stillwater Police Sgt. Jeff Stender said.

The boy, who the girl describes as being about 14 years old, popped up from inside the tree house and asked the girl to be his friend, a letter from the girl’s mother reads.  The teen then reportedly invited the girl into the tree house—where he made small talk to break the ice—and then asked her to take off her pants.

The girl reported that the boy then asked her to play a game that involved putting things in her mouth, Stender said. She also told police the boy may have groped her over her clothing.

The girl reportedly told the teen that what he was saying to her was inappropriate, and within a minute, she told her mother what happened.

The girl was able to describe the boy in great detail, but her mother was unable to find the boy at the park. She then called police.

When police arrived, there was no one on the scene matching the boy’s description, Stender said. Police are continuing to monitor the park and look at surveillance footage from Monday afternoon in an attempt to identify the boy.

This is an isolated incident, Stender said. Police have not received any similar reports, nor has there ever been something like this reported at Teddy Bear Park.

“We are taking this very seriously,” Stender said. “We have no reason not to believe this girl. We want to find this young man and talk with him to find out what is going on. But at this point, I also wouldn’t say this park is unsafe.”

The incident is a reminder that parents should talk with their children about stranger danger, good-touch/bad-touch and never taking their clothes off for someone.

“This girl recognized that something wasn’t right and went and told her mother,” Stender said. “And that’s exactly what she should do.”

Parents should be able to let their kids play in a park without being worried, he said, but parents should also be aware of the surroundings—and report anything that seems strange.

There have been situations in which an adult approached a child—and the kid feels uncomfortable because it is a stranger—but it turns out the intentions were good, Stender said. In those cases, the person generally comes forward to say they are a parent and approached the kid out of concern because the child was crying or looked scared.

“Regardless we want kids to report it,” he said. “We would rather come and check it out than have a kid live in silence, thinking they can’t say anything.”

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