Man exposed himself to 11 young girls in 10 weeks: Docs

Seattle Police searching for man accused of flashing students

Police are investigating a case of indecent exposure after three elementary school students said a man approached them on February 29th before pointing to his groin.

SEATTLE - A man arrested for allegedly flashing multiple children in Seattle and asking them to touch him may have as many as 11 victims since January, according to court documents.

Cameron Javah Sharif, 34, of Shoreline, is facing 16 criminal charges for allegations of indecent exposure, communication with a minor for immoral purposes and commercial sexual abuse of a minor.

According to court documents, Sharif's instances in these charges go back only to the beginning of January. In that time, he allegedly exposed himself to 11 victims, with some as young as 10 years old.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said this is the first case against Sharif filed in their office. It's unclear if he was arrested or charged in other jurisdictions, since his parents indicated in recorded jail calls that this alleged behavior is a pattern with Sharif.

According to court documents, Sharif is accused in the following instances:

Timeline of events

Jan. 2, 5:25 p.m.

Officers responded to the Magnolia Village for reports that two 10-year-old girls were approached by an unknown man. He first asked where Discovery Park was and asked if they could give him directions. Police say the then pulled his penis out of his pants and began touching himself. "He asked if they learned about penises in school and then told them one day it would be in their mouths," court documents allege. The victims said he offered them $10 then upped it to $20 to touch it, but the girls ran off to their homes to tell an adult what happened.
The girls said he had his phone at the center of his chest with the camera facing outward, but they weren't sure if he was recording or not.

Jan. 30, 6:40 p.m.

A father called 911 on behalf of his 13-year-old daughter who told him that she and a friend were walking home from Maple Leaf Park when a man walked toward them. He asked them where the library was before taking his penis out and touching himself. The girls screamed and ran off to one of their homes to report the incident.

Jan. 31, 4:25 p.m

Two 12 year olds were walking in the Magnolia neighborhood when they were approached by an unknown man who was holding his phone down by his groin. He asked them where the libaray was and moved his phone from the front of his pants, exposing his penis. He then asked the girls "have you ever seen one of these before?" and laughed, according to court documents.
The girls screamed and ran away and told their parents what happened. A parent called 911.

Jan. 31, 6 p.m.

A 12-year-old and 13-year-old were walking in North Queen Anne when they were approached by a man from behind. He again said hello and asked where the library was. The girls turned and said the man was standing behind them with his hands in his pants and his genitals hanging out. He stood there and laughed, the girls said.

Feb. 2, 9:25 p.m.

A 12-year-old was walking with a friend near Loyal Heights Park in Ballard when the pair noticed they were being followed by a man. They took a few unnecessary turns to see if he would keep following, and he did, all the while smiling at them. He asked them for directions to Golden Gardens Park. The 12-year-old noticed he was holding his phone over his groin area. When they gave him directions, he moved the phone and said "have you ever seen one of these before?" while exposing his erect penis. The children ran away, terrified, and ran towards two women who happened to be walking by.

Feb. 24, 12:40 p.m.

A 12-year-old was walking home from Metropolitan Market in Queen Anne after making a purchase for her mom. While she was walking home, she heard a man say "excuse me" from behind her. She moved to the side, assuming someone was trying to pass her on the sidewalk. When she turned, the man asked her if she knew where Magnuson Park was. She looked at the man and saw his penis sticking out of his pants and was touching himself with one hand. She pretended to look up directions on her phone but texted her mother to come outside and get her. The man asked her "have you ever seen one of these before?" The girl ran to her house, which was just two houses down from where she had stopped to talk to the man.

Feb. 29, 4 p.m.

Three girls were walking home from school in the Magnolia neighborhood when a man in a small SUV pulled up next to them. He got out of his vehicle while holding up his phone and asked where Discovery Park was. The girls, ages 10 and 11, pointed in the direction of the park but didn't know exact directions, citing their young age as the reason. The man then asked "you girls ever seen one of these before?" and pointed to his penis, which was hanging out of his unzipped pants. The girls ran off and hid in a wooded area and called their parents.

Feb. 29, 5 p.m.

Officers responded to another lewd call to a home on West Smith Street in North Queen Anne. A suspect was not located. The following day, the victim's mother called and made a police report about the incident. A 13-year-old was at a bus stop when a man approached her, asked for directions to the library and exposed his penis to her. She screamed and ran off toward another child and their nanny across the street.

Through witness descriptions and surveillance footage, detectives were able to identify the man in all incidents as Sharif.

Red dots indicate incidents where Cameron Sharif allegedly exposed himself to young girls.

Recorded jail phone calls

Sharif was arrested on March 15 and made a jail call to his father, which was recorded. His father discussed trying to get Sharif into a program for his "condition." His mother, during that phone call, said jail might be the best place for him now and that he needed to deal with the consequences of his actions, court documents said.

Two days later, Sharif spoke to his parents again, suggesting that if he was bailed out, he could start a treatment program for sex offenders and could use that program as leverage to plead down to lesser counts.

In several phone calls with his parents, Sharif never denies the allegations against him, court documents say.

"I needed something to violently interrupt the relapses and that was it," he said in a recorded jail call to his parents.

At one point, his father states: "And God forbid you get the craving and you lose it completely like you have in the past that becomes a higher risk," according to court documents. It appears his parents reference his sexual impulses as "cravings," court documents said.

Shariff has been charged with seven counts of indecent exposure seven counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes and two counts of commercial sexual abuse of a minor.

Bail has been set at $150,000.

Prosecutors said that "the defendant is likely to commit another violent act against a child… Over the course of 10 weeks, the defendant approached and exposed himself to eleven young girls. In each instance, [he] approached the girls under the guise of asking for directions and exposed and fondled his penis in front of them. In one instance, he offered two girls money if they would touch [him]. This pattern of behavior demonstrates a substantial risk to community safety."

Sharif is scheduled for arraignment on April 4, where he will enter an initial plea.

FOX 13 will have updates as they become available.