Man charged in Scranton groping assaults faces similar allegations in Taylor
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Jun. 10—A 20-year-old man charged with slapping or groping three women in the city did the same thing to a woman in Taylor, borough police said.
Michael Patrick Frazier approached a woman on his bicycle May 31 as she entered Walmart, 1325 S. Main Ave., and grabbed her buttocks, Officer Brian Holland wrote in a criminal complaint.
The suspect fled north through the parking lot. Holland obtained video surveillance of the crime.
The incident was similar to three others in Scranton. On Tuesday, city police posted stills of surveillance footage on their Facebook page to ask the public for help identifying a man who they said groped and slapped women in recent days.
The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual assault.
Holland looked at the pictures and "it was immediately apparent" he was also looking at his suspect, he wrote in charging documents. The man used the same bicycle, wore the same hat and the methodology was the same, the officer added.
Borough police also posted their surveillance stills on social media and forwarded them to city Detective Jennifer Gerrity, who investigated the incidents in Scranton. Both received multiple tips that the man's name was Frazier. Callers recognized his shirt was part of the uniform he wore as an employee at a local grocery store.
On Wednesday, after his family told him about the social media posts, Frazier contacted authorities and said he wanted to turn himself in, according to police. He confirmed to investigators that it was him, but declined to answer more questions without an attorney.
Frazier, who had addresses listed both in Taylor and Nanticoke, is charged by Scranton police with three counts of indecent assault and by Taylor police with one count of indecent assault and harassment.
Frazier remains in the Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail total. Preliminary hearings are scheduled Wednesday.
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.
