Serial ‘creep’ on prowl

A SUSPECTED serial sexual predator is terrorising women across the northern Gold Coast, exposing himself in front of mothers with small children.

A man fitting the same description has approached multiple women walking alone in suburbs including Ormeau, Hope Island and Helensvale.

A 31-year-old Ormeau mother of young twins was on her morning walk with her children in their pram on Lynbrook Ave on Monday when a man emerged from behind the bushes and exposed himself.

The frightened woman said she was in utter “disbelief”.

“There were no other people around and all I could think about was getting as far away from him as quickly as possible,” said the woman, who wished to remain anonymous.

“I thought he might attempt to approach me, or worse pull me into his van. He started masturbating and kept at it for a few minutes as I walked past. I tried not to look in his direction or make eye contact.”

She said the man drove a white van and parked it a few metres away, but she was unable to see his rego number.

She described him as caucasian, 30-40 years of age, wearing a fluoro work shirt and cap with a cigarette in his mouth.

“This incident has made me hesitant to walk alone, and I will be avoiding isolated paths in the future,” she said.

“It is sad this individual’s actions have scared the community and made parents think twice about taking their children out for a walk, especially during ... isolation.”

A man matching the same description has been indecently exposing himself at parks surrounding the Hope Island and Helensvale area.

On April 21, a mother and her young daughter near Robert Dalley Park at Helensvale were also flashed. The man, described as being in his late 30s or early 40s, was also wearing a high-vis work shirt.

Hope Island local Mackenzie Brown, 18, was flashed by a “disgusting creep” on April 29 at the Saltwater dog park on Helensvale Road. She described the same man with an “olive complexion”, wearing a high-vis orange shirt and walking a large white dog with dark spots.

She said the man flashed her and played with himself after asking her for the time.

“I started crying, simply because I didn’t really know what else to do,” she said.

“This event ... confirms what most young women are already conditioned to expect and fear: if you’re out late, something will happen.” Police are investigating. “Concentrated and intelligence driven patrols have been performed of all the reported areas as well as doorknocks conducted to gain any further information,” a Queensland Police spokesperson said.

“Police are continuing to target these areas with patrols and are appealing for anyone who might see any suspicious activity or have any information to contact police.”