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The first incident occurred March 14 at an apartment building on Hawkins and Horatio streets, Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose said.
There, Harol Marmijo Rosales was masturbating in a first floor hallway of the building, when he accosted a woman with her 1-year-old grandchild, Ambrose said. The woman screamed, and her family rushed to her aid, police said.
Then, on March 22, a girl riding her bike in the 100 block of Brill Street just ahead of her parents, who were walking, was followed in to the gate of a residence by a man, later identified as Rosales, police said.
Rosales followed the girl to the back of the house and hid inside a garage at the property, where the victim’s parents came to her aid, Ambrose said.
Detectives investigating the incident saw Rosales on video surveillance masturbating in a driveway across the street, before to the girl's arrival, police said.
Police also saw Rosales flee from his hiding place in the garage, heading northbound on Brill Street and eastbound on Brinsmaid Place, Ambrose said.
Rosales was arrested on March 24 by New Jersey Transit police, and faces two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of burglary, criminal trespassing, sexual assault and sexual contact.
Director Ambrose urges any other victims to call the Division's 24-hour Crime Stopper tip line at 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477).
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