By Emily Rasmussen, The Capistrano Dispatch
A man in a white Dodge van reportedly followed a female JSerra Catholic High School student driving in her vehicle after school around 3:45 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 12, which prompted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) to issue a warning to the man. JSerra officials distributed an email a warning of the incident to the school’s community this week.
After leaving campus, the female student drove to a local store and noticed the white van following her. When she left the store, she noticed the same van following her again—so the student returned to JSerra’s campus, wrote down the van’s information and called the sheriff’s department, the email from JSerra Principal Eric Stroupe read.
“When the OCSD arrived, the vehicle had left, but it returned to school again, whereupon the male driver was confronted by the OCSD,” Stroupe’s email said.
OCSD Administrative Sgt. Aaron Brady said that when deputies talked to the man, “he didn’t have a good explanation of what he was up to,” so deputies warned the man to leave school property.
Deputies collected the man’s identity, information and photographed him, Brady said.
“While we have no evidence that this person is necessarily a threat to any of our students, his behavior is clearly disturbing,” Stroupe said in the email. “It is also worth discussing with your children, if they drive, what they should do if they are seemingly being followed. Our student’s actions, returning to a familiar, public area where she knew others would be, is clearly one smart strategy to follow.”
Brady said that if someone sees the van or the driver, call OCSD at 949.770.6011. or San Juan Capistrano Police Services at 949.443.6369. Always dial 911 in an emergency.
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