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Man Suspected In Mall Molestation Turns Himself In To Police

VALENCIA (CBS) —  A man accused of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy in a restroom at the Westfield Valencia Town Center Mall turned himself in to police Tuesday.

Casey Crockett, of Santa Clarita, allegedly molested the boy when he was in a bathroom by the mall food court at about 4 p.m. Monday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

A mall employee reportedly saw the suspect in a stall with the boy and reported it to the boy's father, who works in the food court. The boy's father confronted the suspect outside and the two got into a fight.

Mall Molestation
(credit: CBS)

Mall security detained Crockett but he broke free and fled from the mall towards the nearby transit center.

Detectives saw the 25-year-old suspect on surveillance video and were able to link him to another fight that happened recently at the mall.

"I have three kids of my own that ride their bikes to school and it's disarming to have something like that happen around here," said Bill Davenport, who lives in Valencia.

Crockett turned himself into police later in the day and confessed to the crime. He's been charged with one count of lewd acts with a child under the age of 14. He was being held on $300,000 bail.

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