SAN DIEGO : Bogus Model Agent Fondles Girls

San Diego police are warning the public to beware of a man posing as a modeling agency recruiter who has fondled young girls on city beaches as he prepares to photograph them.

The man has approached three girls between the ages of 13 and 15 since June 25, most recently on Tuesday, Sgt. Steve Hinton said.

Two of the incidents--on June 25 and Aug. 4--occurred at Mission Beach, near Pacific Beach, and Tuesday’s occurred in the La Jolla Shores area, Hinton said.

The first two girls were taken to the grounds of a nearby hotel, where the man asked them to pose on a balcony, Hinton said. The third was asked to pose on the beach. In all cases, the man fondled the girls while he “adjusted their poses,” Hinton said. The girls then fled.

“He says that he’s with a major modeling agency and asks them to pose,” he said.

The man is described as white, 35 to 40 years old, 5-feet-8 to 5-feet-10, with brown, shoulder-length hair and a mustache. Anyone with information is asked to call 531-2325 or 235-TIPS.