Police look for suspect in ‘sexually motivated’ assaults on several female runners

Police are looking for a man who has assaulted and groped several joggers at multiple locations over the last two months.

The perpetrator first assaulted a woman in the 3800 block of Perkins Road in Arlington at about 5 p.m. on Aug. 17. He approached the woman from behind, grabbed her wrist and assaulted her by touching her, police said.

A little more than week later, on Aug. 25, he assaulted a woman in the 3800 block of Morris Drive at around 8 a.m. and on Sept. 1 the assailant struck again in the 4000 block of Perkins Road at around 6:30 a.m.

Each Arlington assault happened in residential areas less than two miles apart.

In all three cases, the man approached the women from behind and assaulted them “through touching and pushing the victim onto the ground” before running away, police said.

Police said all the attacks have been sexually motivated and are connected.

They also say the same man attacked women in a similar way in Euless on Aug. 26, in Hurst on Aug. 29 and in Haltom City on Sept. 2.

The Euless assault happened at about 1 p.m. in the 2000 block of Fuller Wiser next to McCormick Park, police said. The man was shirtless and wore black shorts.

In Hurst, police said the woman got away by pushing the man. It happened at around 8 p.m. on the Cottonbelt Trail near the 7300 block of Precinct Line Road. He groped the woman by grabbing her breasts and buttocks, police said.

In Haltom City, a man approached a woman who was running in the 4500 block of Fossil Creek Boulevard at about 7:20 p.m. The woman was running on a sidewalk in a neighborhood.

Sgt. Eric Peters of the Haltom City Police Department said he encourages all runners to be aware of their surroundings.

“If you’re running with earbuds, don’t have it so loud that you can’t hear what’s around you,” he said. “If someone approaches you, obviously fight back if you can and try to make as much noise as you can to get the attention of someone else.”

Investigators from all departments are working together to find the suspect.

Police described him as an African-American man between 16 and 25 years old who is 5-foot-8-inches to 5-foot-10-inches tall.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 817-459-5305 or Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at 814-469-TIPS with information.

This story was originally published September 6, 2018 at 12:34 PM.