by Charlene Muhammad

(FinalCall.com)�Nearly 25 men of the Nation of Islam�s Fruit of Islam (F.O.I.) and the Million Man March Local Organizing Committee (MMM-LOC) flooded the Southeast Denver neighborhood near Mitchell Elementary School with descriptive flyers and composite sketches of a man who allegedly kidnapped and raped two sisters, ages 5 and 8, who were walking home from school February 26.

The young Black girls were found within 90 minutes of their kidnapping, but the suspect, a 6-feet tall White male, medium build with blue eyes and light brown hair pulled into a pony tail and driving a red sport utility vehicle, is still at large. Robinson Dairy, a longtime member of the Denver business community, has offered a $10,000 reward for any information leading to his arrest and prosecution. The Denver Police Department�s Crime Stoppers is offering $2,000.

The young girls reportedly climbed into the suspect�s vehicle Feb. 26 after the suspect promised to give them money in return for help finding his lost puppy.

Min. Gerald Muhammad, of the Nation of Islam�s local mosque, said the F.O.I. and the MMM-LOC decided to act quickly, hoping to prevent other victims.

There were recent reports of a flasher with a similar description to the suspect in other parts of Denver, but no arrest had been made, Min. Muhammad stated.

"He�s getting more and more emboldened that if we don�t catch him soon, we�re going to end up with a murder on our hands. He�s preying on our children and we have a lot of elementary schools in our community," Min. Gerald added.

Min. Muhammad and Alvertis Simmons, MMM-LOC executive director, said the community response to the patrol was positive. But, they said, not much has changed in the behavior of parents or guardians of elementary school children who continue to trek home from school alone.

Even as they alerted families door-to-door of recent dangers with flyers provided by the Denver Police Department, children as young as eight were escorting younger siblings home, the men said. In one instance, the activists said, they accompanied one girl some 10 blocks to her home, where her aunt was watching T.V. when they arrived.

"This pervert went from a flasher, to a kidnapper, to a rapist. He took their backpacks, clothes, and their virginity," stated Mr. Simmons angrily. Families must take responsibility for children at all times, and not leave it up to society as a whole, he said.

"Our community is inflamed and incensed, and any man, whatever your color, should be upset and vigilant enough to act with neighborhood watch programs, and patrols with and for our youth," Mr. Simmons continued.

According to Mr. Simmons, the neighborhood consists of low-income households where parents, many single, work two to three jobs. He understands the need to work, but feels it cannot be an excuse for not securing children.

"If you don�t want to walk the kids home from school, just stand outside your door and watch them. Let people know that you�re out there protecting these kids," Mr. Simmons pleaded.

He worries parents have not taken the recent kidnappings and rapes seriously�at least not enough to meet their children at school doors when the bell rings at the end of the day.

"We found no parental supervision and that nine-year-olds are walking their five-year-old siblings home. That�s a baby walking a baby home," Mr. Simmons said.

Min. Muhammad said patrols further revealed that many children are being parented by grandmothers or aunts because mothers are either incarcerated or in drug rehabilitation programs. The "short" walk home from school is a hard one for the grandmothers who are aging and feeble, he said.

Reggie Robinson, Mitchell Elementary principal, said nearly all of the school�s 540 students returned to normal activity the day after the incident.

In early days, following the abduction, he said, parents gathered their children from school, but they are slowly regressing back to children walking themselves.

According to Mr. Robinson, the girls participated in the school�s "Stranger Danger" classes and were given talks by their grandmother on not getting into cars with strangers.

The school has highlighted firemen, police, and city utility employees in uniforms, with badges, and in cars with seals as potential sources of help, the principal explained.

"Sometimes, children will be children, and this is one circumstance where an outside element preyed on little girls. We could have the National Guard here on every corner with M-16 rifles, and something might slip in," he continued.

Mr. Simmons has not yet met with or spoken to family members, but understands the girls are traumatized and afraid to be near men.

"We just want to try to help them as much as possible because kids ought to be going to school to learn and have fun, not to be raped. They need to feel like somebody cares, and we have to care. We have no choice. It�s time to put in some work," he said.