Officials Concerned by Convict’s Solicitation

MISSION VIEJO —  A man convicted more than 15 years ago in Pasadena and in Wisconsin for tying up, blindfolding and gagging women as part of a bogus research project called Damsels in Distress showed up last week in Orange County, sheriff’s officials said.

Investigators said the man, whose name is not being released, approached a student in the parking lot of Saddleback College and told her he was a freelance photographer looking for a model to replace the one who had canceled on him at the last minute.

The student declined his offer and reported the incident to campus police, who found the man a short time later. Orange County sheriff’s deputies briefly interviewed him and found a camera and a rope in his car, but they said no crime was committed.

“He is in his early 40s,” said Lt. Ron Wilkerson, a sheriff’s spokesman. “He was last seen driving an older model Chevrolet with Wisconsin license plates.”

Although the man was not arrested, officials are encouraging students to immediately report any similar incidents, saying they are concerned his “suspicious but seemingly harmless” behavior could turn violent.

The man has a criminal history that dates back to the early 1980s, when he claimed to be a graduate student examining the reaction of passersby to a woman in trouble. The man would gag, blindfold and tie up the female students for 20 minutes before letting them go unharmed, detectives said.

None of the women reported any inappropriate touching or sexual comments by the man, Wilkerson said. Officials in Pasadena and Wisconsin confirmed the man was neither a graduate student nor involved in any research.

He was arrested first in Wisconsin on a charge of false imprisonment, but he was convicted of a lesser charge of disorderly conduct, officials said. He later was arrested in Pasadena on a similar charge, which also was reduced to disorderly conduct. He was given probation in both cases, officials said.

The man is white, in his early 40s, about 6 feet, 2 inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes. Sheriff’s detectives ask that anyone who is or has been contacted by him to call (714) 647-1884.