Woman’s plight with Canton flasher sends police on the hunt

Images of the man in a sport coat are seared into Samantha Pollitt’s mind.

Walking home in Canton after a night out several months ago, Pollitt, 36, reached the intersection of Fait Avenue and Hudson Street when an older man emerged from the shadows.

Wearing nothing except a burgundy sport coat, he popped open the jacket and flashed his genitalia and did a little dance before scurrying off.

Befuddled by what had happened and convinced it was just a drunk man playing a dirty prank, Pollitt said she laughed it off and continued home.

“That was weird,” she said, not giving it a second thought.

That was until days later when the same man did it again. And again and again, some six more times over the course of a couple of months.

Now, city police are hunting for the serial flasher in Canton. The search comes after Pollitt, who reported the escalating incidents to police, took her plight to social media, prompting a flurry of community members to chime in and make a unified push for action against the neighborhood’s nighttime exhibitionist.

Pollitt said that when she notified the police, an officer came out and searched the area for the man. When she showed the officer the video of the man, he laughed and thought it was funny, she said.

The next few times she saw the man Pollitt didn’t call the police, she said. When she did call the police again, she said, no one came. Instead, they sent her a text asking her to send videos and pictures.

Police didn’t immediately respond to a request for additional information.

Over time, the man’s behavior has escalated to “scary” proportions, Pollitt said. Initially, it was just a quick flash and he would run away. But lately, he has been more brazen, masturbating on the street as he stares at women, she said.

Pollitt’s last encounters were particularly alarming. Sitting on her stoop on June 25, she was completely unaware of the man’s presence until a neighbor pointed him out. The man was standing a short distance from her in just socks and shoes.

“That one really scared me because I didn’t know he was there,” she said. “He’s just standing there staring at me and doing that.”

She said she was last flashed on Thursday. Unsure what to do, she went to Facebook that day and posted a photo of the man in a neighborhood group with a description of the incident to warn others.

Neighbors began messaging her, many offering support and resources. They, too, had seen the flasher in the area, mainly along South Ellwood Avenue.

They told her his presence was often seasonal, that he comes out of hibernation every summer doing the same thing, she recalled. One neighbor even had a video of him parking his silver Jeep in an alley.

“I didn’t even know it would have as much traction as it has,” she said. “I was just putting it out there so people would be safe.”

Pollitt said a police officer told her Saturday that they had identified the man. He apparently has other warrants out for his arrest.

“You live in a city, so these things happen,” Pollitt said. “It’s just happening to me so often that I don’t see how it would be hard to find somebody who’s butt naked roaming the streets every night.”