Police Hold Man in Acid Attack on Girl in Park

A Whittier man was arrested Monday on suspicion of throwing two cups of acid into the face of a 4-year-old La Habra girl in Buena Park over the weekend.

Mark Edward Hand, 26, was taken into custody about 5:40 p.m. by Whittier police. He was questioned at Buena Park police headquarters and later booked at the Orange County Jail for investigation of aggravated assault with a caustic chemical. Bail was set at $25,000.

The child, Rachel Ogawa, was leaving a restroom at Los Coyotes Regional Park on Saturday with her mother when a man tossed the acid at her, inflicting first- and second-degree burns on her face, chest, arms and legs. The girl was in fair condition at St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton, where a spokesman said Monday it does not appear she will suffer any permanent eye damage.

Witnesses’ Account

Witnesses who told authorities that they saw the man flee in a faded yellow pickup truck had said the assailant appeared to have scars on his face, “as if he had been burned at one time,” Buena Park police Officer Terry Branum said. However, Hand does not have any noticeable facial scars, the officer said Monday.

Branum said that at about 1 p.m. Monday, an anonymous caller told Buena Park police that they could find the truck on a Whittier street. Investigators found the truck, ran the license plate numbers through the state Department of Motor Vehicles computer and came up with Hand’s name.

Police also found “something in the truck” which led them to a Garden Grove chemical company, Branum said. He declined to say what was found in the truck, nor would he identify the company. Employees at the chemical company said Hand had recently bought acetic acid at the firm, Branum said. Acetic acid, a colorless compound found in vinegar and used as an ingredient in paint solvents, is not as corrosive as sulfuric acid.

Buena Park officers stood watch outside the Whittier home where Hand, who is unemployed, lived with his parents, Branum said. The suspect was arrested when Whittier police spotted him walking along a street nearby.

The parents of the child did not know the suspect and police are still without a motive, Branum said.

Rachel’s father, Gary Ogawa, said he is pleased that a suspect was in custody, “because the attack was so totally senseless and random . . . We are happy not just for us, but for anyone else.”

The Ogawa family had gone to the park for a picnic and was getting ready to leave when the attack took place. Rachel and her mother, Elaine, had stopped at the restroom. When they came out, they were confronted by a man.

“The thing is, my wife only had a very rapid glimpse of the man,” Ogawa said. “They thought he was entering the (women’s) restroom by mistake. He threw the cups in my daughter’s face. A second later he dropped the cups and ran.”

The mother carried her daughter to their car and she and her husband began searching for a park ranger. When the girl began screaming in pain, her father carried her to a nearby pond and immersed her in water.

Ogawa, an assistant professor of pharmacology at USC, said the acid “completely covered” his daughter’s face. He disputed contentions by hospital officials that there would be no permanent damage to her eyesight. Both the girl’s eyes are swollen shut, he said, and it will be several days before physicians can determine the extent of the damage.

Branum said police may seek an additional charge of mayhem if the child suffers permanent eye damage.