The man known as the Columbus flasher has resumed his practice of exposing himself to women in the Columbus area.

There were no reports of the naked man during winter months, but he reappeared on May 7 outside a Sawmill hair salon.

April Raymond and two friends were closing the salon when the flasher appeared.

“He was probably there two minutes. He took pictures, endless pictures of us. He ran off and was laughing at us,” said Raymond according to local media.

Photographing his victims has become the flasher’s trademark, said detective Jeff Fox of the Gahanna police.

“He is always completely naked – occasionally he will wear a baseball cap and sunglasses – but he has never been seen without his camera. He likes to take pictures of the women he surprises,” Fox said.

Victims have described the suspect as a white male between the ages of 25 and 30 with an athletic build, Fox said.

The incident on May 7 was the 19th time the suspect has been spotted, said Sherry Mercurio, spokeswoman for the Columbus Division of Police.

“There have been 19 incidents reported in the Columbus/Gahanna area since last year,” Mercurio said. “Some local media have been saying this is the 19th time this year, and that is incorrect.”

Incidents involving the suspect have been reported all over Columbus, but he has not been seen on campus since last year, Mercurio said.

“He’s kind of moving around a lot, so it is hard to say where he will strike next,” Mercurio said. “A lot of the reports are from the north Columbus area. He’s actually only been seen on campus once or twice, and that was last year.”

The flasher’s victims have been women ranging from 15 to 60 years old, Fox said.

“He takes photos of all the victims, and sometimes he masturbates. In most incidents he did not touch his victims, but he did attack a 15-year-old girl while she was walking home from school,” Fox said.

“He grabbed her and started grinding on her, but she broke free and ran away screaming,” Fox said. “Since he attacked the girl, he will now be charged with gross sexual imposition and abduction when he is caught.”

Before the attack, the suspect would have only been charged with public indecency, which is a misdemeanor. The sexual imposition and abduction charges are felonies.

Some potential suspects have been identified in the case, but so far there have been no positive identifications, said Lt. Jeffrey Spence of the Gahanna police.

Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call the Columbus police at 645-4545.