Lewd act reported near elementary school, adding to series of cases
Police have made three arrests of different men accused of similar behavior in recent months
A woman who was walking her dog on Santa Fe’s east side near Acequia Madre Elementary School about 1 p.m. Friday said she saw a man fondling himself on one of the streets near the school, the latest in a series of such lewd acts reported by women and girls in the city.
The city’s police chief said Friday his officers have made three arrests in recent months of different men accused of engaging in similar behavior, and that a recent increase in the number of reports of crimes such as stalking or indecent exposure is likely a result of heightened awareness in the wake of incidents in which a man repeatedly harassed women in the South Capitol neighborhood the past two summers.
Police last year released a composite sketch of a man who women in South Capitol say entered their homes or reached through windows to touch them or expose himself and then ran off when the women screamed. In each case, the culprit targeted a single woman between the ages of 19 and 52 who lived alone. Criminal justice experts told The New Mexican last year that a man engaging in such behavior could escalate to more dangerous acts.
Police have made no arrests in connection with the incidents in South Capitol, where a woman on July 4 told police that she chased off a man who exposed himself on her front porch, hitting him with a stick. Soon after, a woman in a nearby home said she thought she saw a man’s torso outside her window one evening.
In the Friday incident, a 62-year-old woman said she was walking along the Acequia Madre, opposite the school, when she saw what she first thought was a man urinating. As she passed, she said, she did “a double take” when it occurred to her that the man was in fact exposing himself.
She said she turned around “to double check to see if in fact I had seen what I thought I saw and when I went back, he started vigorously masturbating.”
She said a woman who had been sitting in a car in front of the elementary school used a cellphone to try to capture a picture of the man, who began to drive away in reverse, apparently backing up to avoid having his license plate photographed at close range.
But the two women did capture several images of his car, a white four-door sedan with a sunroof.
Santa Fe police Chief Patrick Gallagher said Friday increased awareness and reporting of such incidents can help officers catch the perpetrators.
Gallagher said his officers have arrested at least three different men suspected of engaging in activity such as stalking and indecent exposure. “And none of them fit the description of the
guy in South Capitol,” Gallagher said. “But I bet it’s likely attributable to the increased awareness by people, and I’m glad they are reporting these things to us.”
In one recent case, Eric C. Roybal, 34, was charged with two felonies after teenage girls at a Santa Fe apartment complex identified him as the man they saw looking through an apartment window and fondling his genitals through his pants.
Earlier this month, officers arrested Matthew Herrera, 38, of Santa Fe on accusations that he exposed himself to two teenage girls during a carnival at Santa Fe Place mall.
Santa Fe County Magistrate Donita Sena, finding no criminal history, released Herrera on a $2,500 unsecured appearance bond on electronic monitoring and conditions that he is not allowed in a public park or facility where children are present.
An attorney Herrera hired recently requested the state turn over all information in the case, and court records show no pleas to a fourth-degree felony charge of aggravated indecent exposure to a victim younger than 18 years old, as well as a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure.
Santa Fe Crime Stoppers, the local chapter of a nonprofit organization that helps law enforcement solve crimes and apprehend offenders, has announced it is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the man wanted in the South Capitol incidents.
Anyone with tips can call 505-955-5050.