Tustin man arrested on suspicion of child molestation in park restroom

Police arrested a man on suspicion he attempted to commit a lewd act on an underage girl at park in Tustin on Wednesday.

The suspect allegedly encountered the victim in the women’s restroom of Columbus Tustin Park on the 14700 block of Prospect Avenue and attempted to expose himself to her, according to a news release from the Tustin Police Department. It said that, after a brief struggle, the girl managed to escape and tell her father what had happened. He immediately called 911 and the victim fled.

Police responded to the call at 3:25 p.m.

Officers later found the suspect hiding behind a car, according to the release. He tried to run away, but was caught and taken into custody.

Pedro Frias, 21, of Tustin was booked on suspicion of committing child molestation, an attempted lewd act on a child and false imprisonment, according to the release. It added that Frias has a prior criminal history and is on probation.

Investigators are searching for additional witnesses or potential victims, and are asking anyone that can help them to contact detectives at (714)-573-3372.