Police: Man dressed as soccer ref tried to lure girls

WARMINSTER, Pa. - October 7, 2010

It happened on September 25th at Munro Park where, during the midst of several soccer games, a man dressed in a referee's uniform approached a group of four young girls playing near a baseball dugout.

One of the girls said the man wanted them to go with him.

The girls ran away to a mom who saw the man in the distance, but didn't make much of it at the time.

The suspect was described as an older white male with white hair and glasses.

He was wearing a yellow/black striped shirt like the one pictured above, black shorts, black socks and was carrying a black duffle bag containing orange and yellow flags.

The red flag went up when a check of referees that day revealed the refs were all younger - there was no one with white hair. Police were called two days after the incident.

"It's extremely creepy. I mean, it's scary to think that it's easy to come up with a referee uniform. To a child that's a trusting adult," said soccer club president Linda Schoonejan.

An email was sent out to coaches, players and other clubs and now soccer teams in the area are on alert.

The soccer club is also asking parents to drop off and pick up their children directly from a coach.

Police are urging the community to immediately report anything suspicious to police by dialing 911 or (215) 672-1000.

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