Last week, an 11-year-old girl was walking down the street in Manchester, Connecticut, when a 36-year-old man approached her. The man offered the girl some gum and asked if he could take her clothes shopping. She kept walking, even crossing the street to get away from the man, but he continued to follow her.
Feeling threatened and without a phone, the young girl went straight into a nearby Dunkin' store. Dawn Smith, a Dunkin' employee, didn’t hesitate to help the girl. “I asked if she had her parents’ number, but she said she didn’t,” Smith recalls, “So, I told her I was going to call the police because this is serious and the guy was still standing outside the store.”
Manchester Police arrived within minutes and Smith was able to give them a good description of the man, helping police to apprehend the man nearby. Lieutenant J. Paul Vance with the Connecticut State Police praised the girl for how she handled the situation. “She sought out help,” the law enforcement analyst says, “That’s one thing every parent should talk to their children about.” And Smith agrees, saying, “She did the right thing coming in here and I’m glad she’s safe.”
36-year-old Israel Santiago-Ortiz, near Center and New streets