Molester May Be Linked to 1992 Incident

GARDEN GROVE — A man who recently sexually assaulted a small boy in a restroom at a McDonald’s restaurant in North Hills may be the same one who assaulted another boy almost five years ago at a Garden Grove Kmart, authorities said Tuesday.

After noticing similarities to the North Hills incident, investigators from the Garden Grove Police Department reviewed their own case. On Tuesday, they released a composite of the suspect based on an old surveillance videotape from the store, said investigator Elaine Barr.

The man closely resembles the man in the North Hills case, which was also filmed by a surveillance camera, she said.

In the March 30 incident in North Hills, a 7-year-old eating with his family went to the restroom and was followed by the man, who was loitering nearby, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. After assaulting the boy, the man quickly exited.

The Garden Grove assault occurred in October 1992, Barr said.

In that incident, a man walked into the restroom and waited until a 7-year-old walked in, authorities said. As the boy was walking out, the man exposed himself and took him into a stall, where the assault occurred.

The assault was interrupted when the boy’s mother called his name and knocked on the door, Barr said. The man hurriedly left the room, rushing past the mother, and she found the boy inside.

The suspect in the 1992 incident was described as white, between 30 and 45 years old, 5-foot-10 to 6 feet tall, with light brown receding hair, Barr said. He wore wire-framed glasses and a black eyeglass case on his belt.

“With the combination of our case and the LAPD case and composites--it is our hope that a citizen will provide valuable information,” Barr said.