Man Accused of Stalking Released After Children Recant Story

Updated Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017, at 8:38 a.m. EDT: Police have released a man accused of stalking two young siblings over the weekend after the children recanted their story Monday night, according to WPIX-TV.

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Updated Monday, Oct. 23, 2017, at 2:10 p.m. EDT: A man accused of following and attempting to abduct two siblings in Brooklyn, N.Y., has turned himself in, WPIX-TV reports.

The New York City Police Department’s chief of detectives, Robert Boyce, confirms that the alleged predator came forward Monday after the NYPD circulated a photo of the man and asked the public to come forward with information about the man who had been accused of harassing two children—an 8-year-old girl and her 12-year-old brother—in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn.

In a series of escalating events that began Friday morning, the man followed each of the siblings, attempted to take the boy off his bus, and left a threatening note in their family’s mailbox, authorities said.

Earlier:

New York City police are looking for a stalker who has targeted an 8-year-old girl and her family in the city’s Brooklyn borough. The New York Daily News reports that the man, following a series of creepy encounters, left a note at the family’s Crown Heights home on Saturday that warned, “Watch out. I am watching you!! Your daughter is cute.”

The young girl first spotted the alleged stalker, a bald man who appears to be about 5 feet 9 inches tall and 160 pounds, on her walk to school Friday morning. The 8-year-old told authorities he saw the alleged predator following her and ducking behind cars. He ran off once she reached the bus stop, which was “packed with parents,” according to the Daily News.

The same man reportedly tried to abduct the girl’s 12-year-old brother later that afternoon. According to the New York City Police Department, the man flagged down the boy’s bus and tried to pick him up. He might have been successful were it not for the bus matron, who stopped him and threatened to call the cops if he didn’t leave.

The disturbing behavior continued that evening and through the weekend.

From the Daily News:

He continued to harass the children by snapping photos from the steps of their home at around 7 p.m.

The leering suspect asked the little girl where she sleeps and who she lives with when she tried to confront him. She refused to answer and he ran off toward Nostrand Ave., authorities said.

He returned on Saturday, this time confronting the brother about his parents — and where he sleeps — just after 11 a.m.

The alleged stalker’s letter, placed in the family’s mailbox, is the last known contact they’ve had from the man. The NYPD is asking anyone with information about this person to call its Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.

Read more at the New York Daily News.