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When and Where: Aug. 29, 2005, and Sept. 2, 2005, near Wakefield Middle School, 101 W. 44th St.

The Victims: The victims of these assaults are girls whose names have not been released.

Investigators: Detectives Scott Haynes and Kathy Kragnes.

Summary: In these two incidents, which occurred less than a week apart, a man riding a bicycle approached three girls between ages 12 and 14 and grabbed their left breasts with his left hand, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.

On Aug. 29, two girls, one 13 and the other 12, reported separate incidents when they were on their way to school. Each described a man of 25 to 30 years old, about 5-foot-8, weighing 160 to 200 pounds, with black hair and blue eyes approaching them on a green mountain bike, Pacheco said.

The man grabbed the breast of each outside their clothing, Pacheco said. The girls told school officials, who notified police.

The girls said they would be able to identify the man if they saw him again, Pacheco said.

Detectives, along with school resource and bicycle officers, searched the area but weren't able to find a suspect, Pacheco said.

On Sept. 2, a 14-year-old girl was walking to a volleyball practice at the school when a man on a bicycle approached her, Pacheco said.

She slowed and moved to the aside so he could pass, but, as in the other cases, he grabbed her left breast with his left hand.

She described the man as about 38 to 43 years old and about 6 feet tall, but Pacheco said often victim descriptions of the same person can vary.

Investigators believe the cases are connected because of the way the predator approached the children and because they occurred in the same area. Pacheco said the man may have lived in the area near the school at the time of the assaults.

"People who do these types of crimes may graduate to other, more serious offenses," and it's important to bring them to justice, Pacheco said.

Often a criminal who begins by assaulting a child could move on to kidnapping, he said, and it's important that anyone who may know who this person come forward with information.

The Latest Information: Police have no new leads in this case. Pacheco reminded parents to tell children that if they are assaulted they should immediately report it. Police can then set up perimeter and have a better chance to catch the predator.

How You Can Help: Call 88-CRIME, the anonymous tip line of the Pima County Attorney's Office.

— Dale Quinn

Crime Stoppers