The
public library bathroom is the locus of sexual crime against children, again, this time in Tustin, CA, at the Orange County Public Library, and once again a LIBRARY WAS NOT EVEN AWARE OR CARED LESS—the 13 year old reported the crime himself:
- "School Boy Allegedly Sodomized Inside a Tustin Public Library," by R. Scott Moxley, OC Weekly, 10 March 2012.
A 13-year-old boy had gone to the library after school to study, but ended up a rape victim.
Police say Robert Howard Claudio sodomized the unidentified kid inside a library bathroom located at 345 E. Main Street.
Tustin PD Lt. Pat Welch said in a prepared statement that the boy managed to free himself, run for help and underwent medical treatment.
- "Tustin Boy Sexually Attacked in Library; Suspect Arrested," by Carol J. Williams, The Los Angeles Times, 9 March 2012.
A 23-year-old Anaheim man with a juvenile history of sex offenses was arrested Friday afternoon after a 13-year-old boy reported being sodomized in the men's bathroom of the Orange County Public Library in Tustin, police said.
The boy fled the library to a police station across the street and reported the attack, said Lt. Pat Welch of the Tustin Police Department. He was taken to a hospital for treatment and was home with his family later in the evening, Welch said.
- "Sex Offender Arrested in Tustin Library Assault of 13-Year-Old Boy; Robert Howard Claudio Allegedly Attacked the Victim at a Library About 3:30 P.M. Friday," by City News Service, NBC Los Angeles, 10 March 2012.
The boy left the library and told a security guard what happened, Welch said.
Claudio also approached the guard, Welch said.
"The suspect actually approached the civilian officer and identified himself as a registered sex offender and said that something had just occurred in the library and that he may be involved in it," Welch told KCAL9.
- "Sex Offender Arrested After Assault on Teen," by Erika I. Ritchie, The Orange County Register, 10 March 2012.
The teen told police at the front desk that he had been studying after school in the Orange County Public Library at 345 E. Main St., when he was approached by a man. He said he and the man began talking and the two ended up in the restroom where he was sodomized, Welch said.
The teen said he immediately left the library and came to the police department just a few hundred feet away.
While the teen was telling his story to police, a man left the library and saw a civilian police service officer driving nearby. He stopped the officer at El Camino and Main Street and told him that he was a registered sex offender and had been involved in something at the library, Welch said.
At that point the department's communication center put the two incidents together and immediately dispatched police to the where the man was being detained.
While he was detained, police officers drove the teen by to see if the man was the same one who he accused of assaulting him, Welch said.
He positively identified the man, Welch said. Police have identified the man as Robert Howard Claudio, 24, of Anaheim.
Claudio admitted the sexual assault, Welch said, and was arrested on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 and sodomy of a minor. Claudio was booked into Orange County Jail and has a bail of $2 million.
