Crime & Safety
Man Offers Kids Free Candy At Park: Batavia Police
Police are investigating a "suspicious incident" in which they say a man hid in a cluster of trees and called out to children near a school.
BATAVIA, IL — A man, cloaked in a hood, attempted to lure children playing at a Batavia park Friday afternoon with promises of candy, Batavia police said in an update Monday.
Two elementary-aged children reported they were playing at Prairie Lathem Park, near the southeast side of Louise White School, around 4:45–5:15 p.m. Friday when they heard a voice calling from a cluster of trees on the east side of the school.
The kids walked toward the voice and found a man under an orange blanket calling to them, offering free candy, according to a news release. The children said the man was older, wearing all black and a hooded sweatshirt.
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The kids left the area and told their parents, and as they left, they saw a black sedan leaving the school's parking lot, police said, adding that the children were not able to provide more identifying information about the car.
Officers learned of the incident at 6:42 p.m. Friday.
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Police are asking anyone with information about the incident, including eyewitness accounts or surveillance videos, to contact investigators at 630-454-2500.
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