Man With Knife Exposed Himself To Children: Police

PALO ALTO, CA — A man is accused of sexual battery and other crimes after police allege he exposed himself, held a child at knifepoint, and punched their infant sibling inside a parked car while their mother was away from the vehicle in Palo Alto.

Investigators said the children's mother called 911 around 12:45 a.m. Friday to report a man with a knife exposing himself to her kids inside her car parked on Hamilton Avenue. The mother told police the man fled south on Alma Street when she confronted him.

Police said officers determined the mother had left her 7-year-old son and 11-month-old infant inside her vehicle while she briefly went inside a business that her boyfriend was cleaning. According to investigators, the mother returned to the car 10 minutes later to find a stranger in the driver's seat.

The woman told police she saw the man touching himself while holding a knife against her son and ran for help, returning with her boyfriend. The man fled on foot, and the mother called 911 after briefly giving chase, police said.

According to police, detectives determined the 7-year-old had been sexually battered during the incident, and the young infant was physically struck after being removed from a car seat. The infant suffered minor injuries.

Officers found a man matching the suspect's description a few hours later near Emerson Street and Lytton Avenue. Police have identified the suspect as Joshua Keenan Brass, 30, of East Palo Alto.

Brass was booked into the Main Jail on suspicion of multiple felonies, including committing a lewd act on a minor, assault with a deadly weapon, child endangerment, assault with intent to commit a sex act, and kidnapping with intent to commit a sex act.