Suspected groper arrested for spitting on and groping girls in Maspeth – NBC New York

A man accused of spitting on a teenage girl in Queens and then groping her while trying to wipe her clean has been arrested and faces sex crimes charges, police say.

The alleged incident occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Friday near 71st Street and 54th Avenue in Maspeth. Police said a man approached a 12-year-old girl walking to school and spit his drink on her. While pretending to clean up the mess he made, the suspect grabbed the girl's butt.

According to police, moments later the man attempted to sexually abuse another 12-year-old girl using the same ruse.

Kadeem Laguerre was arrested on Wednesday and is charged with first-degree sexual abuse in connection with the incident, police said. Information about the 27-year-old Laguerre's attorney was not immediately available.

This harassment incident was the second in just a few days in the same Queens neighborhood. The suspects are said to have harassed young girls on their way to school.

The other incident, two days earlier, on September 18, also involved prepubescent girls. According to NYPD Chief John Chell, a man on a city bus in Elmhurst used a dog to entice the girls into conversation.

The unidentified man, carrying a Chihuahua, approached an 11-year-old girl on a crowded MTA Q58 bus around 7:30 a.m. and allegedly placed his hands on her chest. Then, less than 10 minutes later, he inappropriately grabbed another 11-year-old girl, according to police.

In both cases, police said, he used the small dog to calm the children down. After the second groping on the bus, police said the man got off near 72nd Street and Grand Avenue and headed north.

“This man intentionally uses a puppy to sexually assault girls on a bus on their way to school,” Chell told NBC New York.

The suspect in the city bus incident has not yet been caught. Photos of the suspect released by the NYPD show the man with curly hair, approximately 30 to 45 years old. He was last seen with the dog. He was wearing a black baseball cap, yellow jacket and black sweatpants.

“Predatory, dangerous and the common denominator: young girls going to school,” Chell said disgustedly. “This is the modus operandi of a sex offender. This is every parent's worst nightmare.”

The NYPD is increasing police resources throughout the community and is encouraging parents to talk to their children about the two men suspected of being involved in the incidents. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.