Crime & Safety

Cops: Man Offered 13-Year-Old Girls Cash to Get Off Bus With Him

Police credited an adult bystander on the bus for recognizing the girls' age, and alerting police about the Orland Park man's actions.

An Orland Park man is facing two misdemeanor charges against him, after being accused of harassing two girls on a public bus.

An adult witness called the Orland Park Police Department about a man acting inappropriately toward two 13-year-old girls on a PACE bus that had just pulled into Orland Square Mall, according to a release from the police department.

The caller and the two girls said the man sat near the girls while the bus was heading to the mall, and touched one on the shoulder before talking to them, according to the release.

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The man then tried convincing both girls to get off the bus with him before it arrived at the mall, and offered them money to do so, police said. He then gave them a piece of paper with his first name and phone number, and asked them to call him at midnight to talk, police said.

The girls declined and he got off the bus in the 15600 block of 94th Avenue, according to police. Police found the man in a retail store on the block.

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Stephen Gecan, 56, of the 8000 block of Braeburn Lane in Orland Park, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

He is scheduled next to be in court on Jan. 3, 2013 in Bridgeview.

Police report information is provided by law enforcement agencies, including the Orland Park Police Department. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.

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