Thursday, Jun. 16, 2011

Man arrested for indecent exposure

Teen memorized license plate

A teenager remembering a license plate number led to the arrest of a man who allegedly exposed himself Friday afternoon.

The Los Banos Police Department responded to the 700 block of Driftwood Avenue at 3:16 p.m. after receiving a report that a male attempted to lure a child into a vehicle.

Officers spoke with a 14-year-old boy who said he was walking home when a male, 35-year-old Erik Roberts of Los Banos, drove alongside of him and told him to get into his vehicle.

The teen reportedly tried to ignore Roberts who continued to follow him and tell him to get into the vehicle, police said.

Roberts pulled along-side of the teen again and allegedly exposed himself to the juvenile before leaving the area. The victim memorized the vehicle license plate number and provide it to police.

Officer Evan Swearingen located Roberts and learned he had been arrested in the Bay Area for similar acts.

Roberts was placed under arrest on suspicion of Indecent Exposure with prior convictions, annoying/molesting a child, and attempted kidnapping. He is in custody at the John Latorraca Correctional Facility in lieu of $250,000.

"This was a great example of the public working with the police to catch the bad guy. If the victim had not memorized the license plate and given it to our officers, who knows who else’s child would have been next,” Cmdr. Ray Reyna Jr. said.

Police are encouraging parents to teach their children to be aware of their surroundings, ignore strangers, to never go anywhere with someone they do not know, and how/when to use the 911 system.