Sex offender arrested for lewd acts outside Boys & Girls Club

A man was arrested Wednesday morning in Desert Hot Springs after police received reports that he was masturbating inside his truck while watching students nearby at the Boys & Girls Club.

The Boys & Girls Club is located at 11320 Cholla Dr. and is close to Desert Hot Springs High School, however the club was not open at the time of the incident.

Police said 27-year-old Michael De la Rocha, a registered sex offender, was sitting in his parked Dodge truck when the indecent exposure was reported. The suspect drove off when Desert Hot Springs police arrived. Officers said they pulled him over and detained him while they investigated the incident.

Officers learned De la Rocha was a registered sex offender who was on parole.

Police booked him into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on charges of indecent exposure, lewd conduct in public and for violating his parole.

He was also charged with possession of concentrated cannabis.

According to the Desert Hot Springs Police Department, there is no indication that De la Rocha is the one responsible for the abduction case that took place in front of Two Bunch Palms Elementary School on September 12, but it’s still a good arrest.

De la Rocha’s booking photo is expected to be released later Wednesday.