Boy Attacked In Restroom Stall of Bookstore

Police are continuing their search today for a man who apparently tried to assault a 7-year-old boy in a Rancho Santa Margarita bookstore.

The Wednesday night incident, which took place about 45 minutes before Crown Books closed, has jolted the community, prompting mothers to rethink whether they will let their sons go to the men's restroom by themselves.

The Orange County Sheriff is looking for an African-American man in his 50s with black hair and a mustache. He is described as being between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet tall, and weighing about 180 pounds. At the time of the attack, he was wearing a blue and white shirt and dark pants.

Police services circulated a composite sketch of the man on Thursday. Anyone who can assist with identification should call Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS (855-847-6227).

The boy, at the store with his family, went to the restroom located off to the side of the bargain book store that in the location formerly occupied by Borders Books.

The boy was in one of the restroom's two toilet stalls when the man tried to crawl under a partition from the adjacent stall.

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The man grabbed at the boy's leg, according to Orange County Sheriff spokesman Jim Amormino, but the young lad was unsure if the man had actually grabbed the leg or not; the man had gotten his body about halfway into the stall when the boy managed to escape the restroom. 

"His parents saw him and saw that he had a terrified look on his face and was somewhat traumatized," Amormino said Thursday afternoon. "A family member did observe a man who closely resembled the suspect leave the store in a hurry."

The incident brought unwanted attention to the city's only bookstore, which is owned by San Diego-based A&S Booksellers.

"I haven't had an incident such as this in 23 years and probably a hundred bookstores," said Ward Albright, the operations manager for Crown Books. "I'm not sure how you can make any store foolproof. We'll review it, obviously. I worked for years at Taget, K-Mart, Barnes and Noble, B. Dalton—I'm not sure any of those situations (were) more secure than what we're doing here.

"This situation could happen anywhwere. My concern is that it happened in a Crown that I work with."

Albright is correct—it can happen anywhere, and did. About a hundred yards to the north of the bookstore is the Rancho Santa Margarita Library where last year a registered sex offender allegedly masturbated in front of some teen girls. is set to go to trial July 16 on a felony charge of indecent exposure; the Mission Viejo man is a registered sex offender.

The Crown incident took place about 8:15 p.m. The boy was at the store with his mother, father and sister, Amormino said. Police canvassed the area, looked for video surveillance, and also checked the suspect's description against local registered sex offenders.

Some Patch readers indicated that the incident will change their sons' bathroom habits.

"This is why I'm taking my son into the women's restroom with me until he's old enough to fight one of these sicko's off," Autumn Leroux wrote on the RSM Patch Facebook page. She lives very near the bookstore.

Leslie Sweet also commented: "Very scary but a good reminder we can never be too careful when our children are involved. My boys will be coming in the ladies room with me if they like it or not."