Alleged victim of Howell sex offender comes forward

<p>A 19-year-old woman says that she and her younger sister were followed by a convicted sex offender who is now accused of harassing several young girls in Howell Township stores.</p>

News 12 Staff

May 11, 2018, 2:25 AM

Updated 2,176 days ago

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A 19-year-old woman says that she and her younger sister were followed by a convicted sex offender who is now accused of harassing several young girls in Howell Township stores.
Sasha Silver says that she, her mother and 8-year-old sister were in the Target on Route 9 in Howell on May 7 when they noticed a suspicious man following them.
"Whenever he got close to us he would look at an item and be like, ‘I need to get this,’" Silver says.
Howell police say that the man was 62-year-old David Hohsfield, a Tier-3 sex offender who was previously convicted of sexually harassing young girls.
Silver says that Hohsfield was following them while talking loudly on his cellphone. She says that the conversation was sexual in nature. Howell police say that these phone conversations were fake.
“As soon as we entered the kids section we noticed him being really creepy and smiling at [my sister] and trying to get as close to her, not even looking at me or my mother,” Silver says.
Silver says that Hohsfield eventually left them alone and targeted another mother and child. Silver says that she warned that family and also contacted police.
Howell police have now charged Hohsfield with several counts of harassment. They say that there are at least four incidents where Hohsfield allegedly harassed and followed young children inside Target, Walmart and TJ-Maxx in town.
Howell Police says that after they received Silver's report, investigators realized they had arrested Hohsfield at the Walmart three years earlier. In each case, police say Hohsfield was using sexually explicit language around the girls. 
"Those charges were still pending in our municipal court from 2015 because this person was incarcerated during that time,” says Howell Police Chief Andrew Kudrick.
Kudrick says that be believes that there may be more victims of harassment. He is urging them to come forward.
Anyone who may feel that they were victimized by Hohsfield is urged to call the Howell Township Police Department at 732-938-4111.


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