Costa Mesa Touching Case Is Up to D.A., Woman Told

The woman seen in a Costa Mesa store surveillance videotape apparently being inappropriately touched by a teenage boy said she wants to press charges, but police say that decision isn’t up to her.

The woman, whom police have identified only as Jane Doe, said she told Costa Mesa detectives that the boy pushed her hard enough into the counter that he bruised her knees. She said he touched her buttocks.

She said that when she confronted the boy, he laughed and told her that one of three other boys seen on the surveillance tape had pushed him into her.

She called police to report the May 5 incident. “I remember perfectly,” she said. “The officer asked me if I wanted to press charges and I said, ‘Yes.’ ”

But because the incident would be considered a felony sexual battery, she cannot decide whether to press charges, said Police Lt. John FitzPatrick. That decision is up to the Orange County district attorney.

FitzPatrick said police interviewed the woman again after talking to the boy. He said she told police that the boy could have just pushed her.

FitzPatrick said the case is now being reviewed by the district attorney’s office.

Police said the incident was unrelated to a rash of attacks on Victoria Street since December.