Petaluma harassment suspect found

Petaluma police Wednesday said an investigation into a report of an elderly man giving a 15-year-old teen unwanted attention will be referred to the District Attorney’s Office but that it was unlikely charges would be filed as there appeared to be no malicious intent on the man’s part.

Police on Tuesday released information about an incident, asking for help in identifying a man who reportedly had bothered a teen Tuesday afternoon as she walked near Crinella Drive and Albin Way.

Officers later determined the man’s identity and contacted a 72-year-old Petaluma resident. They found that he suffers from several conditions that affect his memory, Petaluma police Lt. Dan Fish said Wednesday.

The incident occurred at about 2:50 p.m. The man, walking his dog, apparently began talking to the teen and touched her arm repeatedly, even though she had pulled her arm away, police said.

A woman driving by stopped to ask the girl if she was all right and the man walked away. The driver then called police, leading to the investigation,

Officers don’t believe the man said anything inappropriate, but apparently had been annoying the girl who didn’t know him. The case was going to prosecutors for review, Fish said.