Many residents of Third Street woke up on Friday to find a letter on the front door of their apartment buildings or in their vestibules from a mother who lives near here.

"This is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, but if I heard that another child was molested because I kept my mouth shut, I would not be able to live with myself."

She described the man as someone who lives on this block, too.

"My family has used him for at least five years. He had keys and access to our building and has shown me on numerous occasion other keys for other building, many on this block."

She went on to write:

"(This man) has succeeded in seducing and molesting my 13 y.o. daughter, this apparently has been going on for a few months…I called the police and he was arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of a minor, and attempted rape. He is out of jail on bail."

I of course will not post the name of this man for a number of reasons even though she provided his name and address. I have no way of proving the veracity of this note. I don’t even know if the writer really exists. She did give an email address and I plan to get in touch with her. I am inclined to think the letter is authentic and that the incident occurred. But I really don’t know.

Some of the moms on Third Street are trying to figure out what to do. We feel the need to share this information with our daughters in an age-appropriate way. But just how do you do that?

The thought of something like this happening to our children is frightening. A neighbor spoke to the guidance counselor at PS 321 for advice in this regard. I look forward to hearing what she had to say. In the meantime, I am haunted by the last paragraph of the note written by this mother, who describes herself as a single mom and a neighbor with RN, BSN, CNM degrees:

"Please talk to your children, hold them close. I could not bear the thought of this happening to anyone else’s child."