A 57-year-old school custodian was arrested on suspicion of fondling two students in the girls' bathroom at Moffett Elementary School in unincorporated Lennox, authorities said Friday.
Bernard Lobjois of Hawthorne was booked on Feb. 13 for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, cruelty to a child, and criminal threats, Sgt. Diane Hecht of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau said. He was released on $100,000 bail the following day.
The alleged acts occurred at the school at 11050 Larch Ave. during two incidents, Hecht said.
The first occurred on Dec. 10, when two girls, ages 7 and 8, were accosted by the suspect in the girls' bathroom, Hecht said. She said Lobjois fondled both girls over and under their clothing, threatening to harm them if they told anyone, and slapped the older one in the face.
On Feb. 10, the 8-year-old was again confronted by Lobjois on entering the girls' bathroom, Hecht said. He fondled her chest and groin area over her clothing, struck her in the face when she tried to get away, and threatened to harm her family if she reported him, she said.
After the last incident, the older victim's mother noticed a mark on the child's face, and the girl reported what had happened in December and again this month, according to the Sheriff's Department.
Lobjois was arrested by Special Victims detectives at about 9:35 a.m. last Friday.
