Burbank police seek alleged groping suspect

Police are looking for a man suspected of groping a 17-year-old woman on Monday in the parking lot of the Burbank Town Center, police said.

The woman was walking to her car, which was parked in the west garage through the first level of Macy’s, just before 7 p.m. when a man approached her asking if she spoke Spanish, to which she replied that she did, said Burbank Police Officer Joshua Kendrick.

He then asked her for a ride, and as she got into her vehicle, he reportedly stood inside the open driver’s side door, blocking her from shutting it.

She told him to go away, after which he reportedly reached down and touched her inner thigh, Kendrick said. The woman screamed and pushed him, prompting him to walk away and sit down on the steps outside Macy’s, located at 200 E. Cypress Ave.

The man was described as Hispanic, roughly 5 feet, 6 inches tall, 140 pounds, in his mid-20s or early-30s, with short black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing blue jeans and a gray T-shirt, Kendrick said.

Police responded to the area, but were unable to locate the man.

Kendrick urged shoppers to have their car keys in their hand or accessible before leaving a store.

Anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident is asked to call Burbank police at (818) 238-3210.