Community help wanted to identify man suspected of harassing a child in Encinitas

Authorities reached out to the public Oct. 22 for help in identifying the man who harassed a 10-year-old girl near an elementary school in Encinitas twice last week.

The child reported that the stranger, who appeared to be in his 40s, approached her in the area of Ocean Knoll Elementary School in the 900 block of Melba Road on Oct. 11 and the following day and made inappropriate statements, sheriff’s Sgt. Paul Michalke said.

In both cases, the girl walked off, unharmed, according to Michalke. Michalke declined to disclose the exact nature of the man’s comments, though Michalke said they were not expressly sexual.

The child described the perpetrator as a thin, roughly 5-foot-10-inch Latino with shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes and what appeared to be tattoos under his right eye and on the right side of his neck.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has released an artist’s rendering of him (see above) in hopes of generating tips in the case.

Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 or download the P3 anonymous tip app at www.sdcrimestoppers.org. Tipsters may remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward of up to a $1,000.