A man exposed himself to a girl who was walking with her family on the trail at Westwood Lake Park last night.
According to a press release from Nanaimo RCMP, the incident occurred Wednesday at about 6 p.m. The nine-year-old girl was walking about 100 metres behind her siblings and father when the suspect “appeared in the bushes and exposed himself … said a few words and then left the area.”
The girl’s father wasn’t able to locate the suspect and police responded, speaking to several people in the area, but no one had seen the supect.
The suspect was described as 35-40 years old and was wearing a green shirt, a blue surgical mask and a black hat with white lettering.
“Westwood Lake … is used by hundreds on a daily basis for swimming, hiking and cycling, and like other parks and trails throughout Nanaimo, it is extremely safe. Unfortunately, incidents like the one reported do occasionally occur,” said Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, in the release.
Anyone with information who has not already spoken with police is asked to call the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345 and quote file No. 2020-32203.
Police say if people experience a similar incident, they should not engage with the individual and should leave the area and report the incident to police immediately. People should walk in groups when possible and keep their earphone volume low enough to hear someone approaching.
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