Sex Offender Arrested in Assault on Girls in School

Police arrested a known sex offender in connection with this week’s sexual assault of two 7-year-old girls in a school restroom and indecent exposure to two other students, investigators said Thursday.

Staff members at the Calvary Church school on Tustin Avenue helped police identify the man as Jose Artemio Arriaga, 31, who registered as a sex offender with the Police Department on Dec. 22, 1995, Police Lt. Bob Helton said. Police contacted Arriaga through his parole officer and arrested him about 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Later that evening, several victims identified Arriaga in a police lineup, Helton said. Arriaga is also suspected of indecent exposure on Jan. 19 at Temple Beth Shalom Children’s Learning Center, about a mile from the Calvary Church school. A description of the suspect in that incident matched Arriaga, police said.

On Monday, a man exposed himself to two girls ages 8 and 9 at the Calvary Church school, police said. After they ran to alert school staffers, he molested two 7-year-old girls in a restroom, police said.

Investigator Linda Faust used a computer program that compiles witness descriptions to produce a composite. She then identified him as being a registered sex offender who came into the station about a year ago.

“Linda has a great memory for faces,” said Sgt. C. Johnson, her supervisor. “She went back through her files, and located his picture and background. It turned out to be the right person.”

Helton said police “got real lucky in this case.”

Faust also led the investigation of Kenneth Wade, who was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison in October 1995 after pleading guilty to 13 felonies spanning two years, including a rape, nine burglaries and car theft.

Arriaga, a roofer who was living alone in a Santa Ana apartment, also has an extensive sex crime record in Orange County and is on parole for indecent exposure, Helton said. He is being held at the city jail without bail on suspicion of child molestation and parole violation.

Arriaga is among about 800 registered sex offenders in Santa Ana. California law requires all convicted sex offenders to register with the local law enforcement agency.

“Most sex offenders tend to commit more crime,” Johnson said. “For that reason, we keep track of them.”

Some narcotics violators also are required by law to register, and pending state legislation would require convicted violent gang members to register with law enforcement, Johnson said.

“It’s a way to keep track of people whose history shows that they tend to be repeat offenders,” Johnson said.