A substitute teacher in Southeast Pennsylvania has been arrested for allegedly groping a 17-year-old girl over the weekend, authorities said Tuesday.
Jared Matthew Gerhard, 29, of Macungie, is accused of reaching between the girl’s legs and touching her from behind while the victim was shopping with her family at a Marshall’s store in the Trexler Mall in Lower Macungie Township.
The alleged incident happened later Friday afternoon, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said, according to NBC Philadelphia.
The teenager told police Gerhard first approached her at the store and exposed his abdomen to her.
A few minutes later, the teenager felt a person touching her over her shorts, Lehigh Valley News reported, citing court documents.
She turned around and saw Gerhard standing between two racks of clothing. When she screamed, the suspect fled the store.
Officials received a 911 call around 5:30 p.m. When state troopers arrived at the scene, they found a man “driving his car at a high rate of speed through the parking lot and onto Mill Creek Road.”
After the man was stopped, officials identified him as Gerhard. Clothing and a toy from the store were also found in the car, police said.
Gerhard was arrested and charged with indecent assault and unlawful contact with a minor. He has since been freed after posting $35,000 bail, according to the Morning Call.
