HOUSTON – A man accused of flashing people in the Heights has been charged with indecent exposure and authorities believe there could be more victims.
Police say multiple people had seen a man between the ages of 50 to 70 along Heights Boulevard riding a child-sized bike and exposing himself. They said the incidents go back at least a year and that one of the victims was a minor. Paul David Cole is now facing charges in connection with the alleged crime. He was arrested Friday and had already bonded out of jail by Friday afternoon.
One of the cases involves a woman and her daughter who were walking along Oxford Street on Dec. 22. The woman told investigators a man on a children’s bike followed them and them and began touching himself inappropriately. The woman said she was able to scare him away and investigators say she later went online and found a man matching the description on a sex offender registry. This is the case in which Cole has been charged, but authorities believe more charges could be added as more people come forward.
“I am so happy to get this guy off the street because we don’t know if he would have become more emboldened and actually sexually assaulted somebody,” said Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen.
Many residents of the Heights posted about having encounters with possibly the same man on the Nextdoor app, but Rosen said none of them had alerted law enforcement officials.
“Please, before you post on Next Door, contact law enforcement,” said Rosen. “Let us do our jobs.”
Cole denied being connected to the crime.
“It wasn’t me,” Cole said as he was walked before reporters and cameras after his arrest. “They haven’t got the right guy yet.”
Cole has prior convictions for child fondling and indecent exposure.
Rosen is urging other potential victims to come forward.
A woman who wants to be identified only as Paula told KPRC 2 that a man exposed himself to her in November while she was gardening on her front lawn.
"I hear a car pull up and just stop, so I looked up and saw and it's a guy in a car (touching himself,)" she said.
Paula wrote down a license plate number that has now been turned over to authorities. Precinct 1 investigators are looking into whether Paula’s case is connected to Cole’s case.
If you or someone you know is a potential victim, you can contact Corporal Joe Bowden at Precinct 1 at joseph.bowden@cn1.hctx.net.