San Gabriel Valley Man to Be Arraigned For Alleged Lewd Acts On Boy In Mall Restroom

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CA – A Claremont man and Disney employee accused of inappropriately touching a 9- year-old boy in a restroom at the Puente Hills Mall in Industry will be arraigned today on a felony count of committing a lewd act on a child, according to authorities.

Richard Matthew Camarena, 45, was ordered to remain jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail while awaiting arraignment 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 members of 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 him 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.

On Wednesday, a representative for Downtown Disney told KCAL9 that Camarena was employed at one of its retail stores. Downtown Disney is an outdoor shopping center at Disneyland in Anaheim.

The representative, who declined to say at which store Camarena worked, said he had been placed on administrative leave pending the resolution of the investigation.

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--City News Service contributed to this report/Images via LACSO