Woman chases off flasher in South Capitol neighborhood

A 37-year-old Santa Fe woman said Thursday that a stranger exposed himself outside her home in the South Capitol neighborhood, then ran away after she broke a stick over his back.

The incident, which occurred around midnight Tuesday, recalled a string of indecentexposure reports in the same area last summer that led to a police investigation but no arrests. Police have not said whether they think the same perpetrator might be involved in the incidents.

The woman, a single mother of a child under the age of 5, said in an interview that she was sitting on her couch July 4 when she looked out a window and saw a shirtless man with his face covered, fondling his genitals.

She said she began to scream at him, then grabbed a stick near her door and struck him before he ran off.

The woman said the intruder had scaled an adobe wall to get onto her property.

On June 13, 2016, a 34-year-old woman on West Houghton Street discovered a stranger fondling his genitals in her bedroom around 11 p.m. She told police the man ran away after she screamed.

On June 26, 2016, a 30-yearold resident of Chavez Place reported feeling a hand on her waist as she cooked dinner in her apartment, then screamed and kicked at the man, who let go of her and ran out a back door.

The next night, a 52-year-old resident of Buena Vista Street told police a man reached through a bathroom window and grabbed her buttocks while she showered. He also fled when she screamed.

And in July of last year, a 19-year-old woman told police she was showering at home alone when a man entered her bathroom and placed his hand between her legs. She said the man ran after she screamed.

Santa Fe police last year released a sketch of a suspect and offered a reward for information leading to his arrest. Experts in criminal psychology told The New Mexican that a man engaging in such behavior could escalate to greater acts of violence.

Greg Gurulé, Santa Fe police spokesman, said in an email Thursday that last year’s cases remain under investigation, but he did not say whether they might be connected to the most recent incident in the South Capitol area.