Man accused of sexually assaulting Whole Foods shopper in Valencia is arrested
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Authorities have arrested a suspect captured on surveillance camera exposing himself and touching a woman while she was crouched down in an aisle picking out products at a Whole Foods in Valencia.
On Monday, deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department detained Jared Paul Estrada, 28, of Valencia in Orange County and booked him on suspicion of indecent exposure and sexual battery, said Lt. Luis Molina, the watch commander at the sheriff’s Santa Clarita substation.
He posted $100,000 bail and was released Monday evening, according to the Sheriff’s Department Inmate Information Center. He is due in court in Valencia on Wednesday.
Estrada is accused of carrying out the lewd act at a Whole Foods store on Valencia Boulevard between 7:30 and 8 p.m on March 23. In the video, the suspect appears to film himself on his phone while rubbing his genitals against the shopper’s ear.
The Sheriff’s Department circulated a photo of the suspect last month seeking the public’s help in identifying him. Several members of the public came forward and identified the man as Estrada, providing information including his date of birth, phone number, car and indicating that he lived near a local elementary school, according to a detective’s report obtained by the Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
A spokesperson for Whole Foods said in a statement that the store was deeply concerned by the incident and fully cooperating with law enforcement’s investigation.
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