TIGARD, OR (Jan. 23, 2025) - A teenage girl reported a concerning interaction with a man on the Fanno Creek Trail this morning, which led to the man being charged with a felony crime.
The 16-year-old girl told officers she missed the bus for school and was walking to campus along the Fanno Creek Trail behind her apartment (off SW Main Street near SW Maplewood Drive) around 9AM, when she was approached by a man. She said the man didn't speak English and they began communicating through Google translate.
The girl reported the man said he had "weed" and asked if she wanted to go back to his apartment to smoke and drink, but she said no. The man asked if she wanted to go deeper into the woods off the trail, and again the girl said no. Throughout this interaction, they walked together on the trail until they reached the back of the Tigard Public Library. At that point, the girl reported the man said he wanted to meet up with her after school. She went inside and reported the interaction to library staff, who called police. Officers spoke with the girl and her caregivers about the situation, and she was safely returned home.
Members of the Tigard Police Community Oriented Policing team, who serve as focused patrol officers in the downtown Tigard area, searched for the man and found him along the trail between City Hall and Universal Plaza. He was identified as Cristian Serrano-Martinez, age 32, from Tigard. He was charged with felony distribution of a controlled substance to a minor.
This serves as a reminder for parents to talk with their children about safety, and plan ahead for how they would respond if approached by a stranger. The Tigard Police Department would like to praise the actions of this teenager for how she handled the situation, in saying no and telling an adult as soon as possible. Her quick reporting allowed officers to find the suspect in this case.
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