PORTLAND — An Oregon man who spent time in prison after being accused of snipping or gluing female bus passengers’ hair has been arrested again — this time accused of lewd behavior on buses.
Investigators allege that Jared Weston Walter, 26, has masturbated and ejaculated into the hair of several female TriMet bus passengers, The Oregonian reports. Police say there may be other victims.
The first two victims were unsure what had happened, Portland police Sgt. Pete Simpson said in a statement. However, police say Monday’s victim did realize and reported it quickly. Officers interviewed her and witnesses, pulled video from the bus and also collected DNA evidence from the woman’s hair.
Investigators familiar with the hair-cutting cases were able to identify Walter, the newspaper said. By Monday afternoon, transit police arrested the man — as he waited for a bus in downtown Portland.
Walter was sentenced to a little more than two years in June 2010 after pleading guilty to witness tampering. At the time, authorities said Oregon law didn’t specifically deal with stealing or gluing a stranger’s hair. The newspaper says he also was serving time for burglary and identity theft counts. He was released less than two months ago.
Now he’s charged with third-degree sexual abuse, public indecency, harassment and interfering with public transportation — all misdemeanors. Walter appeared briefly Tuesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court to hear the charges. It was not immediately known whether he had a lawyer.
Bail was set at $22,000. He’s also accused of violating post-prison supervision in nearby Clackamas County.
Police say there may be more victims, particularly on bus routes running between Portland and the suburbs of Milwaukie or Oregon City. They said they were releasing images taken from buses in hopes of jogging the memories of other women.
