A Sacramento man has been taken into custody on charges of child sexual assault and annoying or molesting a child under 18, following a series of incidents at a Goodwill store on the Elkhorn Boulevard. The suspect, identified as 38-year-old Cesar Augusto Ortezponce, was arrested after allegations surfaced of him exposing himself to an 8-year-old girl and engaging in inappropriate actions in close proximity to women and children, as reported by ABC10.
According to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, the investigation kicked off in May when a young girl relayed how a man had revealed his genitals to her and had made physical contact up her inner thigh as she was playing dress-up while her mother was preoccupied with trying on clothes the store's array of second-hand apparel the man reportedly fled shortly after the incident. On September 27, additional footage provided by Goodwill led to the identification of Ponce who was allegedly caught on camera engaging in behavior beneath the standard of decency, such as kneeling behind a woman and positioning a phone under her dress, detailed in the information from The Sacramento Bee.
Further video evidence from September 30 showed Ponce at the same location, this time looking at children's toys, while a mother and her two children were shopping near what appeared to be Ponce touching himself in a troubling display of depravity as a girl ran by; Ponce was detained at this same Goodwill where the previous incidents occurred and a search of his apartment was conducted subsequently. In a sobering reminder of the hidden dangers in even the most mundane places, detectives are currently pursuing the possibility of additional unreported cases involving Ponce, as reported by ABC10. Any individuals who believe they, or their children, may have had an encounter with Ponce are being encouraged to contact the Sheriff's Office Child Abuse Bureau at (916) 874-5191 or by emailing [email protected].
