FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Just one day into the 2015-16 school year, parents of pupils in the Freehold Township K-8 School District received a letter that likely caused alarm bells to go off.
Assistant Superintendent of Schools Neal Dickstein informed parents of an incident that took place after school on Sept. 9.
“This evening, we were informed by the Freehold Township Police Department that an attempted child luring incident was reported by a student from the Errickson Elementary School. Shortly after dismissal, a large sport utility vehicle pulled up next to a student. The male driver who appeared to be in his 30’s asked the student if he needed a ride home. The student ran away from the vehicle and upon arriving home the parents contacted the police department. This incident occurred somewhere between the school and Woodstock Lane,” Dickstein wrote.
On Sept. 10, he told the News Transcript, “I shared as much as I could with the community.”
The assistant superintendent said police have increased their presence at Freehold Township’s schools.
Freehold Township Police Detective Sgt. Jerry Kiwit said Detective John Catron investigated the incident and will follow up on it.
“Basically, the vehicle pulled up with a white male driver and the driver asked (the child) if he wanted a ride home,” Kiwit said.
The child was identified by Kiwit as a 9-year-old boy.
Dickstein’s letter stated the goal of being “proactive in getting information out to our school community that may be useful in protecting the safety of our children.” He also said in the letter that children should “report such incidents to a responsible adult so that they can be reported to the authorities.”