Investigation yields suspect who 'may pose a danger'

A man suspected of trying to lure a Cape Girardeau Middle School girl into his car on March 12 was arrested and charged Tuesday for failing to register as a sex offender.

Timothy T. Glas, 35, of Cape Girardeau, was named as the suspect in court documents filed by Cape Girar-deau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle in seeking an arrest warrant for Glas for failing to register.

Glas was convicted in 1985 in Des Moines, Iowa, of exposing himself to a middle school girl, who he tried to get into his car, Swingle said. He was sentenced to a year in prison.

Because of the previous conviction and new information from Cape Girardeau police, the prosecutor said it was necessary to mention Glas was a suspect in the recent complaint in order to obtain the arrest warrant. "We feel he may pose a danger to the community," Swingle said.

Glas remains in custody at the Cape Girardeau County Jail in lieu of a $2,500 cash-only bond.

No abduction-related charge has been filed because an investigation continues, and Swingle said he has not received a police report on middle school incident.

Convicted sex offenders are required by state law to provide county sheriff's departments an address within 10 days of moving into a county. For not doing so, Glas faces a class A misdemeanor, garnering up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Up until his arrest, Glas worked part-time as a children's gymnastics coach.

Class Act Gymnastics owner Shawn McNally of Jackson said Glas was consultant for his business since December, holding skills clinics with students. Earlier this week, police informed McNally of Glas' criminal record and he in turn notified the parents of his students, he said.

"I'm still very shocked and sorry to hear about the whole thing," McNally said.

He maintains that Glas was not an actual employee of the gym and never taught a class there without another adult present.

"Our gym policy is that a male instructor is never left alone with the kids," McNally said.

But McNally said from now on the gym will perform criminal background checks on all future employees and contract consultants.

The student's description of the man in the blue car apparently fit with a man police were aware of, and so they showed her a photo lineup from which she picked out Glas, Huff said.

School officials hope the registration charge is enough to deter the suspect, but have reminded students what to do when approached by strangers, said Rob Huff, chief financial officer with Cape school district.

Staff writer Callie Clark contributed to this report.

mwells@semissourian.com

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