Sunnyvale Man Arrested, Accused of Sexually Harassing Children in Public
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — “The Mountain View Police Department arrested a man for making inappropriate gestures towards two minors.
On Tuesday, July 8, at approximately 3:45 p.m., MVPD officers responded to the 600 block of Franklin Street in response to a report of a suspicious circumstance.
Upon arrival, officers located two witnesses who advised that an unknown male had made inappropriate gestures toward two juveniles. Officers spoke with both witnesses who described two identical incidents with two different juvenile victims, one 4-year-old and one 6-year-old. One witness stated that the suspect approached one juvenile in close proximity making inappropriate gestures. A nearby witness intervened by shouting at the suspect. The suspect made a comment and moved on. The juvenile victim was not touched or injured during this incident.
As the suspect moved on from this incident, he approached another juvenile nearby and made the same inappropriate gestures towards the juvenile victim. During this circumstance, the juvenile’s father witnessed the event and shouted at the suspect. The suspect again moved on after being interrupted. The second juvenile victim was not touched or injured during this incident.
MVPD officers quickly located the suspect nearby and detained him. After both witnesses positively identification the suspect, officers placed him under arrest.
Suspect John Curiel, a 25-year-old Sunnyvale resident was booked at the Santa Clara County Jail for one count of California Penal Code 288.3(a) Contacting a Minor with Intent to Commit Lewd Acts and one count of California Penal Code 647.6(a) Annoying or Molesting a Child.
The swift reporting of this suspicious activity to the MVPD provided essential information for patrol officers to quickly apprehend the suspect. The Mountain View Police Department encourages community members to report suspicious activity immediately.
Mountain View Police Department detectives are seeking additional potential victims or witnesses. If you have information that can assist with the investigation, please contact Det. Riffel at Lauren.Riffel@mountainview.gov or 650-903-6356.”
