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Police Say Sex Offender Molested 6-Year-Old Boy In A Library Bathroom
Juan Francisco Palacios, 29, from Riverside, California, followed the victim into the bathroom, then fled after the assault, police say.
A sex offender molested a 6-year-old boy in the bathroom of a public library in California, police said.
Juan Francisco Palacios, a 29-year-old registered sex offender on probation for possessing child porn, was arrested and charged for the crime, according to KTTV in Los Angeles. The alleged assault happened at the Jesus S. Duran Eastside Library in Riverside on July 18. The boy was at the library with his father and a sibling.
Palacios, who police said is a transient, was apparently at the library trying to sell a tablet, KTTV reported. The attack happened quickly, police said, with Palacios following the boy into the bathroom.
“As the child is going into the restroom, the suspect gets up from his seat and goes directly to there and 20 or 30 seconds is all it took for the suspect to commit that sexual assault," Riverside Police Public Information Officer Ryan Railsback told KTTV.
Palacios was caught on camera going into the bathroom, and a woman in the library also witnessed part of the assault.
“The child came out and went and told the dad," Pam Thind told KTTV, "and the guy pretty much bolted for the door and left.”
Police couldn't find Palacios when they arrived, but he was caught on Sunday when he went to a different library and someone who works there recognized him, according to The Press-Enterprise in Riverside.
He was arrested and charged with one count of sexual assault against a minor under the age of 10 and violating probation. He's being held on a $1 million bond.
[Photo: Riverside Police Department]
