'Piggyback Bandit' on the loose

If this guy seems out-of-place, it's because he is.

We are fortunate to have readers of this blog from all over the country. So, I feel it necessary to give everyone a bit of a warning. Sherwin Shayegan of Seattle, dubbed "The Piggyback Bandit," has shown up at high school sporting events in five different states trying to talk students into giving him piggyback rides. He's already been banned from schools in Washington, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, and North Dakota. Law enforcement officials say he appears at high schools and posing as a volunteer. Sometimes he pretends to be disabled to gain sympathy from the kids.

The photo you see above is from a security camera at a North Dakota High School. Shayegan is 5-8 and weighs 250 pounds. What he's doing isn't just creepy - it's dangerous for the kids to have a man that large just jumping on their backs. According to reports, he's been doing this since 2008 and only recently has he been charged and/or punished. Shayegan received a one-year suspended sentence in Montana for misdemeanor assault earlier this month. However, this didn't seem to deter him. The guy was seen the very next week at schools in Minnesota and North Dakota.

Please be on the lookout for this guy or anyone who shows up to your kids' games behaving strangely. Don't think it's too much to contact law enforcement about weird characters. Most of the adults who are around our kids mean them no harm whatsoever, but we need to remain watchful of the ones who have other intentions. As you go with your kids to their various events this weekend, please remember to have fun and be careful. Until next time...

Be a Good Sport!

-Sol

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