Man arrested, accused of sexually assaulting a boy in a Santa Ana restaurant restroom

Santa Ana police officers responding to a diner regarding a man refusing to pay his tab learned he allegedly sexually assaulted a boy in the men’s restroom just before they arrived.

The man was taken into custody about noon Friday at Denny’s restaurant at 2530 S. Bristol St. after falling asleep in a booth, according to a Santa Ana Police Department statement.

Officers detained him while investigating the claim he refused to pay for his food, then heard from a woman who told them he had just sexually assaulted her juvenile son in the restaurant’s restroom, police said.

The child had told his mother about the assault when officers arrived on the scene. The boy’s age was not provided.

Orange County sheriff’s inmate records indicate the suspect is 50 years old and was being held in the men’s Intake Release Center on $1.3 million bail.

Anyone with information to contact Det. Anthony Pacheco at 714-245-8352, apacheco@santa-ana.org, or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.