Man Accused Of Groping Girl At San Mateo Mall: District Attorney

SAN MATEO, CA — A man was arrested on suspicion of coercing a 15-year-old girl to meet him at a parking garage at the Hillsdale Shopping Center for sex on Sunday, only to start crying and run away after being punched in the nose by one of the victim’s friends, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

Jose Carlos Fierro, identified by the district attorney’s office as a 34-year-old transient, was charged with three felonies related to committing lewd or lascivious acts against a child. Fierro met the girl at the mall around July 6 and said he was 18 or 19, the district attorney’s office said. They exchanged social media information, and he pressed her to meet up for sex in exchange for vape cartridges even though she told him she was 15, according to the district attorney’s office.

When the two met at the mall on July 18, Fierro pulled down the girl’s pants and began groping her, the district attorney’s office said. The girl texted several male teenage friends who she had stay nearby but out of sight, and they subsequently confronted Fierro, according to the district attorney’s office.

Fierro pushed a 14-year-old boy, who then punched Fierro in the nose. Fierro called 911 claiming he had been attacked, but police found social media exchanges with the girl, according to the district attorney’s office.

Fierro pleaded not guilty to all charges at his arraignment Tuesday and remains in custody on $150,000 bail.