Police arrest man accused of groping a child in SE Portland grocery store

Police have arrested a man accused of groping a ten-year-old child at a grocery store in Southeast Portland.

Portland Police tell us at 7:25 p.m. Tuesday, a "community member called 911 to report the location of the man suspected of groping a child." Police arrested 42-year-old Adam M. Caldwell near Southeast 52nd and Duke. He is now being held at the Multnomah County Jail, booked on the charge of Sex Abuse in the Third Degree.

“In the evening hours of June 20th, 2024, a dad and his two girls were grocery shopping. The two little girls went off without their dad, to get some caramel for dessert, and the dad heard one of the little girls scream, and when he turned around both of the girls were running to him,” said Sgt. Jerry Cioeta with Portland Police Bureau.

Police say the alleged incident happened at a grocery store near southeast Hawthorne and Cesar Chavez.

“Video surveillance did in fact capture on video, a white male age 37-55, five foot seven to six foot, grabbed a ten-year-old’s buttox. And then leave the store,” said Sgt. Jerry Cioeta.

After hearing about the allegations, people in the neighborhood tell us they were outraged; especially fifteen-year-old Denali Kenney, who says it’s unfair that incidents like this happen.

“He felt comfortable enough to do that in a public store with cameras and lights everywhere and people everywhere like this happened Like most of my friends can’t and won’t walk alone downtown or in these areas and sometimes I even get nervous and only stick to really like populated routes but hearing that some guy just did that even in a super populated space,” said Kenney.

Parents tell us incidents like this one are why they’re so cautious with their kids.

“That’s why we’re always trying to keep her by us and telling her always to stay around. Make sure you’re by your mom and dad,” said Luys Fernandez, who is a father, and frequents SE Hawthorne and Cesar Chavez.

Though some community members are not surprised

“Very shocked, but sadly not surprised, you know, things like that happen in the community and it’s pretty sad,” said nearby resident, Noah Alviz.

We reached out to Fred Meyer, which is a grocery store located in the area where the incident happened, and its spokesperson sent us a statement reading “Fred Meyer is working in full cooperation with the Portland police department and we encourage anyone with helpful information to contact local law enforcement.”

https://katu.com/news/local/police-search-for-man-accused-of-groping-a-child-in-se-portland-grocery-store

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Author: KATU News
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News post in at: August 1, 2024, 3:04 am.

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