Man Arrested for Allegedly Molesting Girl

An eight-year-old girl’s claim that she was molested by a stranger at Girsh Park led to the arrest of 38-year-old Leobardo Alatorre, of Goleta. Deputies with dogs responded to a call Wednesday evening, June 27 at about 6:30 p.m. from the family of the girl, who said that a man approached her while she was riding her bike, grabbed the handlebars, and led her down a path to a secluded area of the park. There he allegedly kissed her on the mouth and put his hand under her shorts.

The girl said the man released her when she said she would tell her father, who was playing basketball with her brother on a nearby court. Deputies and dogs searched the area for several hours, tracking the scent from belongings they believed were left behind by the molester. Deputy Michael McNeal and his dog Betti finally found Alatorre sleeping in a four-foot diameter drain pipe near the Storke Road overpass. After witnesses placed him at the scene of the crime, Alatorre was arrested on charges of kidnapping, lewd acts upon a child, and public intoxication.