California / IN BRIEF : ESCONDIDO : Molester Fails to Show for Sentencing
A former amusement center employee has apparently jumped bail to avoid a jail sentence on charges that he molested three children who were at the park on a school field trip, officials said. Clemente Orosco SantaCruz, 28, of Tijuana, Mexico, was being sought by Escondido police. Detective William Wolfe said he feared that SantaCruz had fled to Mexico. SantaCruz, a former bumper-boat operator at Escondido’s Family Fun Center, had pleaded guilty to the charges in a plea agreement. He failed to appear at a sentencing hearing Tuesday, where he was expected to receive a jail term of up to one year, officials said. According to police reports, the three girls were molested on May 1 as they left the bumper-boat ride.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
