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Boy attending birthday party is followed, sexually assaulted in park bathroom

Posted at 10:46 PM, May 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-24 22:46:51-04

Jerome Park in Santa Ana is shown in this Street View image from Google Maps.

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man followed a 9-year-old boy into a park bathroom and sexually assaulted him during a children’s birthday party, Santa Ana police said Tuesday.

The incident occurred about 4:25 p.m. Sunday at Jerome Park, in Santa Ana, California, according to a news release issued by the Santa Ana Police Department.

The boy was with his mother at the birthday party when he went into a public bathroom at the park. The man followed the boy into the restroom and had a short conversation in Spanish with him before touching the child’s genitals, police said.

The man, whom the victim did not know, then fled, according to the release.

He was described as 25 to 35 years old with short hair and a thin mustache. He was wearing a white T-shirt and blue pants.

Anyone who may have seen the suspect is asked to call detectives at 714-245-8343.