News
Man accused of putting obscene photos on cars
Published: Apr 15, 2003 - 09:14 PM
ALTON - A Godfrey man has been putting obscene pictures of himself, along with his e-mail address, on the windshields of young women's cars, Alton Police said Tuesday.
Prosecutors on Tuesday charged the suspect, 20-year-old Michael R. Ostrander, with three counts of distribution of harmful material for allegedly putting pictures of himself, with his penis exposed, on the windshield of a car that three young women had used on March 15
Prosecutors on Tuesday charged the suspect, 20-year-old Michael R. Ostrander, with three counts of distribution of harmful material for allegedly putting pictures of himself, with his penis exposed, on the windshield of a car that three young women had used on March 15
Alton Police Lt. Bill Taul said Ostrander's e-mail address was printed on the bottom of the Polaroid pictures.
"I guess it was for them to contact him," Taul said.
The three young women found two of the pictures on their car after they returned from shopping at a retail store along Homer Adams Parkway.
Taul said he knows of at least two other women who had similar pictures tucked under the windshield wipers of their cars, but they didn't want to get involved. In addition, workers at retail stores in Alton have reported finding similar pictures on their parking lots.
"We don't know how many times it's happened," Taul said.
The three young women involved in the episode on March 15 gave police a description of a suspicious man in a truck. On the night of March 19, Alton Police got a call from a store's security personnel about a person matching that description in a truck outside a store.
Police found Ostrander sitting in his truck, and tucked into to the vehicle's sun visor was a picture. Police also found in the truck a Polaroid camera, film and a knife with a 5-inch blade.
"The knife kind of worried me," Taul said.
Police arrested Ostrander that night on a charge of obscenity, for possessing the picture, but he was released after posting bond. Detectives later showed Ostrander's mug shot to the three young women, and they identified him as the man they saw on March 15.
Ostrander was not yet in custody as of Tuesday evening. Circuit Judge Ann Callis set his bail at $15,000.
"I guess it was for them to contact him," Taul said.
The three young women found two of the pictures on their car after they returned from shopping at a retail store along Homer Adams Parkway.
Taul said he knows of at least two other women who had similar pictures tucked under the windshield wipers of their cars, but they didn't want to get involved. In addition, workers at retail stores in Alton have reported finding similar pictures on their parking lots.
"We don't know how many times it's happened," Taul said.
The three young women involved in the episode on March 15 gave police a description of a suspicious man in a truck. On the night of March 19, Alton Police got a call from a store's security personnel about a person matching that description in a truck outside a store.
Police found Ostrander sitting in his truck, and tucked into to the vehicle's sun visor was a picture. Police also found in the truck a Polaroid camera, film and a knife with a 5-inch blade.
"The knife kind of worried me," Taul said.
Police arrested Ostrander that night on a charge of obscenity, for possessing the picture, but he was released after posting bond. Detectives later showed Ostrander's mug shot to the three young women, and they identified him as the man they saw on March 15.
Ostrander was not yet in custody as of Tuesday evening. Circuit Judge Ann Callis set his bail at $15,000.
