Man accused of inappropriately touching 8-year-old girl
Detectives are warning the public after a 30-year-old man from Palm Springs was recently arrested on charges of inappropriately touching an 8-year-old neighbor while she was watching a movie at his home with his girlfriend’s children.
Sgt. William Hutchinson with the Palm Springs Police Department said the investigation into 30-year-old Jesus Mendiola Carrasco began on March 21 after officers received a complaint through Riverside County Child Protection Services.
The incident reportedly happened near the 4000 block of Calle De Ricardo in Palm Springs.
On March 30, PSPD detectives with the Crimes Against Persons Unit identified Carrasco as the suspect. They said he’s a nearby neighbor of the victim.
Detectives learned Carrasco touched the child victim inappropriately while she was inside his residence, and he was arrested for lewd/lascivious acts with a child under 14, Sgt. Hutchinson said in the release.
Officers said Carrasco was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
They also believe he may have other victims who visited his residence — specifically, children under 14 years old who may be less likely to report a crime to police, or too afraid to talk about it with their parents.
If you have any information to help detectives with their investigation, or discover your child may have been a victim, call the PSPD Crimes Against Persons Unit at 760-323-8144.
