Police arrest Freeport man for lewdness incident in Merrick

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Nassau County police have arrested a Freeport man who allegedly exposed himself to two 9-year-old girls at the corner of Webster Street and Petit Avenue in Merrick on Aug. 10.

Alex Ramirez, 26, of 95 Ann Drive South, has been charged with first-degree attempted sexual abuse, two counts of first-degree public lewdness and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He was arrainged in Mineola on Saturday.

On Aug. 10, at approximately 7 p.m., a 9-year-old girl was riding her bike to her grandmother's house when she was saw a man sitting on what appeared to be an electric bike at the corner of Petit and Webster. When the suspect intentionally exposed himself to the girl and "touched himself inappropriately," NCPD Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun said, she turned around to go home and tell her parents. 

Two minutes later, the girl's sister, also 9, saw the same man while riding home from the grandmother's house. When she attempted to ride past him, the suspect lunged at her, grabbed her shoulders and attempted to pull her pants down. The girl yelled at the man, and was able to get away and ride home to her parents. 

The girls' mother indicated that both her daughters gave the same description of the suspect. "He was wearing red pants, had long dark hair, was on a black bike with chunky wheels, and had a mask on," she said. "As I’m on the phone making a 911 call, there’s already police up and down the block looking for this guy."

Days after the incident, LeBrun held a news conference in Merrick. He described the suspect as a white male of medium build, and approximately 25 to 27-years-old. At the time of the incident, he was riding a 27-inch black bike with "fatter tires," and wearing a black shirt, red pants, white sneakers and a surgical mask.

Members of the First Squad and Community Affairs unit canvased the area that afternoon to inform residents of the incident and collect information for potential leads. Each officer carried a flyer featuring a photo of the suspect, which was captured from a Ring Doorbell.

"We’re imploring the Merrick community to go back into their video cameras, their home surveillance, their Ring Doorbells — even before Aug. 10 — to look and see what [they] have," LeBrun said. "If it matches the description of this individual riding the bike, please contact us as soon as you can. We want to make sure we apprehended this individual as soon as possible."

"We’re trying to keep it in the media, because even if it takes a month or a year to find this guy, kids need to know that it’s okay to talk to your parents about this," the girls' mother said. "And when things do happen, find an adult."