Homeless Man Held After Girl Is Reported Missing
A homeless man who took a 4-year-old child for a walk with her mother’s permission but never returned was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of child molestation, police said.
Police found the man, Jose Monteverde Torralba, 28, about 9 a.m. Tuesday walking near Sanborn Street and Fountain Avenue and pushing the girl inside a shopping cart, Capt. Stuart Maislin said.
The girl’s mother, a hot dog street vendor who operates at 4th and Los Angeles streets, had befriended Torralba and had asked him Monday to take her child for a walk, Maislin said.
The mother grew worried about 6:30 p.m. and reported the child missing. Police spent at least 16 hours Monday night looking for the girl.
She was found in good physical condition and “appeared to be in good spirit,” Maislin said. The girl remained in police custody Tuesday as officials decided whether to return her to her parents.
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