Man arrested for allegedly soliciting San Mateo High School girls

The car and the man matched descriptions provided earlier by two teenage students at the school who said the man tried to speak with them and get them into his car, police said.

Officers received two reports this week of a suspicious person outside San Mateo High School at 8 a.m. on Monday and 9 a.m. on Nov. 6.

In both cases, a man inside a car called out to female students and tried to ask them questions, police said. In one of the cases, the man urged the student to get inside his car.

Police responded to a third report of a suspicious man who solicited a 19-year-old female student at the San Mateo Adult School on Thursday, but said that incident was likely not related to the previous reports. Police are, however, investigating the possibility Thursday’s suspect is connected to a South San Francisco incident on Nov. 8. In that incident, a man approached a 2-year-old girl at Costco on 1600 El Camino Real, patted her head and said “come over here” while making a circular motion with his hand. The man left when he noticed the girl’s mother nearby. He is described as Asian, in his 40s, with a mustache and between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 7 inches.

Police said an investigation into the third report would continue and are planning to release a forensic sketch of the suspect in the coming days.

“The successful conclusion of this investigation is indicative of the strong collaborative efforts of the San Mateo Police Department, the San Mateo Union High School District and the San Mateo-Foster City School District,” police said in a statement. “(San Mateo police) would also like to thank the quick response by local media outlets to publicize this case in a timely manner to educate the public and help us ensure the safety of our schools.”