Howell, NJ – Hours after a New Jersey man was arrested on multiple counts of harassment, The Howell Township Police Department is asking Lakewood-area residents to contact them if they were similarly victimized.
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Police said that 62 year old David Hohsfield of Whiting, located approximately 16 miles southwest of Lakewood’s Orthodox Jewish community, had followed several women and girls around local stores, making vulgar and explicit comments.
Hohsfield is listed as a Tier 3 high risk sex offender with the New Jersey State Police OffenderWatch sex offender registry and was previously convicted on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and sexual assault on three different occasions after approaching his victims in public places and attempting to lure them into his car.
A total of four incidents involving a man who was later identified as Hohsfield have been reported to the Howell Township Police Department.
Two took place on May 4th, with Hohsfield reportedly trailing a mother and her 12 year old daughter as they shopped at the Howell Target, and another mother and her 11 year old daughter as they walked around the Howell TJ Maxx.
In both incidents, Howell trailed the victims, making lewd comments as he pretended to speak to a caller on a Bluetooth headset.
Police were called in again on May 7th in cases involving Hohsfield after two more mothers and their 12 and eight year old daughters reported similar behaviors at the Howell Walmart and Target stores.
Hohsfield, who has seven known aliases and is on parole, was charged with eight counts of harassment and is being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institute.
None of the victims in the four incidents reported so far have been from the Orthodox Jewish community but police say that they are working with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office to determine any other women or girls were harassed by Hohsfield.
“We encourage any victims to come forward, including members of the Jewish community who may be hesitant to do,” Detective Sergeant Christian Antunez told VIN News.
Anyone who may have been victimized by Hohsfield is asked to call the Howell Police Department at 732-938-4111.