Suspect identified in Fishtown groping incidents

PHILADELPHIA (WPHL) — Police have identified Noel Vargas, 29, as the man who they believe inappropriately touched a woman and a teenage girl in two separate incidents last month in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Detectives with the Special Victims Unit of the Philadelphia Police Department issued an arrest warrant for Vargas, who reportedly has a criminal history.

Vargas faces two counts each of Indecent Assault, Simple Assault, and Harassment.

Neighbors of Vargas said that on Wednesday, officers showed up to the home of his family on East York Street. However, the family told Action News at 10 on PHL17 that Noel did not live there.

One of the groping incidents in which Vargas is accused occurred on March 25. A woman reported that she was bent over while she was buckling her child into the car when a man pinched her buttocks. She said she quickly got in the car and wanted to get away from the man as soon as possible.

In the second incident, a 13-year-old girl reported that while she was on her way to school on March 28, a strange man approached her from behind and grabbed her in a bear hug. In surveillance footage captured by a doorbell camera, the victim could be heard screaming, and it shows the suspect dressed in all black running away.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact their tip line (215) 686-TIPS (8477).