NEWPORT BEACH : Girls Molested; Lock Windows, Police Say

Police are asking residents of a Newport Beach neighborhood to lock their windows after two girls reported they were molested by a stranger in their bedrooms in the early morning.

The reports involved two Harbor View Elementary students, according to Sgt. Andy Gionis. The first incident occurred at 2:30 a.m. May 2 on Sandcastle Drive followed by another at 4:30 a.m. Monday on the same street.

The girls both described the intruder as white, in his early 40s, with long black and graying hair, secured by a headband, and with a beard or goatee. They said he wore ripped clothing and baggy pants.

In both cases, police said the molester entered after removing the screens to kitchen windows, which had been left partially open. He then entered the girls’ bedrooms, woke them, briefly fondled them, then left for unexplained reasons.

Neither girl was sexually assaulted nor physically injured, Gionis said.

At first the first victim and her parents thought the incident was a dream, until they found the open window. In the second case, the parents checked the house immediately and found the screen had been replaced backward.

“We believe both incidents did occur and we are investigating them as such,” Gionis said. A police helicopter is patrolling an adjacent canyon area, he said.

“We’d like residents in the area to be sure their windows are secured, especially with this warmer weather, and to be alert to suspects that match the description.”