Man From Nearby Claremont Arrested As Suspect In Mall Groping Of Boy

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY, CA – A Claremont man accused of inappropriately touching a 9- year-old boy in a restroom at the Puente Hills Mall in Industry was charged today with a felony count of committing a lewd act on a child.

Richard Matthew Camarena, 45, was ordered to remain jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail while awaiting arraignment Thursday at the Pomona courthouse.

Camarena allegedly groped the boy in a restroom stall July 8 and took off after the boy struggled with him.

Prosecutors said the child was visiting a movie theatre with his family, and, at one point, went to the restroom in the mall. As the boy was in the locked stall, he allegedly saw the stall door wiggled open and Camarena entered, officials said.

The youngster immediately alerted his family about what had occurred, and they contacted law enforcement, who arrested him Saturday at his home, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Before his arrest, investigators circulated surveillance images of Camarena, describing as a person of interest they were trying to identify.

If convicted of the charge, Camarena could face up to eight years in state prison, according to the District Attorney's Office.

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--City News Service contributed to this report/Shutterstock image