Police sought the public's help on Thursday to identify a man responsible for sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl at a Riverside Kmart.
Police said they were out of leads two months after surveillance cameras outside the store on Iowa Avenue show the man walking into the store -- around 8:30 p.m. on June 25, fiddling with his hood.
"It kinda leads you to believe that he might have been up to some type of 'no good,'" said Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback.
Inside he does the same thing before wandering around the store for several minutes. Then, near the jewelry section, in the blurred image you see the girl running away after the man allegedly reaches under her skirt and assaults her. He runs straight for the exit.
"It's disgusting," said Patty Moreno, a customer.
Moreno used to drop her teens off at the shopping plaza before school each morning. Her son tells her the area is not safe.
"My little one has had transients follow him," Moreno said.
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Other shoppers, shocked at the assault, are even more shocked the man did it in the middle of a busy store.
"I've heard that it happens but you just never think it will happen close to where you are," said Jacqueline Garcilezi, a customer.
"That's terrible," said customer Manuel Barraza. "My daughter just started working here.
Kmart officials did not comment and referred questions to detectives.
