A Dallas woman says she was stopped and harassed by a man outside the gym. He asks her an inappropriate question that makes her scream. Other women say he did the same to them.
In a video with over 47,000 views, TikToker Caitlin (@caitlindefaria) walks on the sidewalk outside of the gym, saying that she feels like she is about to have a panic attack.
“I just got sexually harassed walking to the gym,” she says. “You can just be doing anything as a woman and someone will just [expletive] with you.”
She says that a man parked next to her and started “waving at [her] from behind.”
What did the man say to her?
Caitlin pretends to listen to her headphones and walks away from the man, who was trying to talk to her.
“He followed me and stopped in front of me,” she recounts. “He says, ‘Excuse me, miss, my English isn’t that good.’ And then he asks to watch me go to the bathroom. Cause he’s a [expletive] weirdo.”
She screams, “No!” and tells him to “go [expletive]” himself.
“He just ran away and ran back into his car and drove off,” she says.
Caitlin laments that two passersby did not check on her after the incident.
In the caption, she provides a description of the man who she says sexually harassed her.
“He was a Hispanic male with dark hair, a beard, and a flat face. He was driving a silver square-shaped car, and the license plate started with VFC,” she writes.
Did the man harass other women in Dallas?
Shortly after posting her viral TikTok on Aug. 13, other Dallas women flooded the comments section, suggesting that they’ve encountered the same man.
“This man did the same thing to me at the Trader Joe’s on Greenville TWICE,” one writes.
“This same interaction happened to me on the Katy trail and I saw him in Berkley’s yesterday – girl I’m so sorry!” another says.
“BRO this same guy came up to me yesterday at Whole Foods,” a third adds.
Caitlin says in a TikTok that she received over 50 comments from women who were also harassed or followed by the same man.
Several post photos of the same car that Caitlin saw the man drive: A silver Scion XB with the license plate VFC9871. She compiles the photos in a follow-up video.
In the comments, Caitlin says she reached out to local businesses’ security to let them know to watch out for the man. She also says she reached out to the Dallas Police Department. However, “They said they won’t do anything.”
However, a spokesperson for the Dallas Police Department tells The Mary Sue in an email, “31-year-old James Garibay was arrested by Austin PD, on a Dallas PD warrant for Harassment, M/B.” Several women who say the man harassed them shared screenshots of Garibay’s social media profiles in the comments sections of Caitlin’s videos.
Viewers advocate for women in the area to practice self-defense measures, such as concealed carry.
“The same thing happened to me omg. Literally I started carrying a self defense kit around after that. I literally feel so much safer now,” one says.
“Don’t ever walk alone without some sort of protection!!!!! Thank you for sharing,” another suggests.
@caitlindefaria Just got harassed walking to the gym in Dallas and honestly…this happens way too much in Dallas. I screamed at the guy because it’s not the first time something like this has happened to me and I’m pretty good at reacting but it always messes with me emotionally. He was a Hispanic male with dark hair and a beard and flat face. He was driving a silver square shaped car and the license plate started with VFC. Look out for him if you’re in uptown Dallas and don’t engage. #catcalling #harrassmentawareness ♬ original sound – Cait ?
The Mary Sue reached out to Caitlin via Instagram direct message for further comment.
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