Police search for serial flasher

Investigators are seeking surveillance footage that might help them locate a suspect who has been exposing himself at Columbia stores.

This suspect has been approaching women at several Columbia stores and exposing himself to them, a Columbia Police Department news release stated. The first incident was reported to an officer doing a routine check-up at the Walmart located on West Broadway.

At about 2 a.m. Nov. 22, a woman told the officer a man came into the store and exposed his genitals. The man also took the hand of one employee and attempted to force her to touch his penis.

"We like to treat anyone who would knowingly expose themselves to others as potentially dangerous," Columbia Police Department spokeswoman Jessie Haden said. "We just don't know if he is in the right state of mind."

She said other than grabbing the woman's hand, he hadn't made any moves toward rape or any other form of sexual assault.

"As of right now he is still just being that weird guy that likes to show himself off," Haden said.

About an hour later, another officer was checking up on the Hy-Vee located in the same shopping center as the Walmart. The suspect entered the store and exposed himself to one female employee there.

Police were able to look at video surveillance from the Walmart and determined the suspect's vehicle is a white van. It is described to be of an older model.

"Police have not yet obtained a copy of the surveillance tapes," Haden said. "We are working to get our own copy so we can study it further."

The man was seen again at the UPS store located on Clark Lane. At 6:30 p.m. Nov. 24, an employee called police because the man had exposed himself to another female employee, the news release stated.

"From one report or two, we don't know what that person's potential is," Haden said. "If a person is a peeping Tom, that may be all they are, but sometimes peeping Toms are rapists, so we have to treat all of them seriously. We don't want to risk anything."

The man, if caught, will face charges of second-degree sexual misconduct and assault.

"If this is his second such offense, it would be a class A misdemeanor, so it is likely that he could labeled a sex offender for his actions," Haden said.

This is the second recent case of an exhibitionist in Columbia. The week of Nov. 8, a man was spotted jogging in the nude on East Campus. Neither of the two suspects has been apprehended, and CPD is continuing investigations into both cases.