MELVILLE, N.Y. — A Long Island man was arrested on child endangerment charges after he approached two girls on the street, questioned them about their feet and asked them if they wanted to model socks and sandals for him, authorities said.
Andrew Marks, 42, stopped a 14-year-old girl walking her dogs on May 7 and asked her “inappropriate questions about her feet” before driving away, Suffolk County police said in a news release.
The girl told police Marks said he worked in the fashion footwear industry and she could make $400 modeling sandals in his product line, Suffolk district attorney’s office spokesman Bob Clifford said Thursday.
A week later, Marks stopped a 15-year-old girl, also walking her dog, police said. That girl told police he offered her money to model socks, took one of her shoes off and massaged her foot for about 10 seconds, Clifford said.
Advertisement Both girls told police Marks asked them whether they liked to have their feet massaged and requested their telephone numbers, Clifford said.
Marks was found because police had a description of his car and a partial license plate number, police spokesman Officer Robert Boden said.
He was arrested Wednesday and arraigned Thursday on two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail, his lawyer said.
“We believe he is not guilty, and we believe the facts are going to bear that out,” defense attorney Amy Cobert Haber said.
She said she believed Marks worked in the women’s clothing industry, but she didn’t know where.