Riverside

Registered Sex Offender Accused of Attempted Assault in Elementary School Restroom

A campus supervisor followed a man after seeing him exit a girls' restroom and drive away from McAuliffe Elementary School in Riverside.

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

A 32-year-old registered sex offender was arrested Friday after he allegedly attempted to sexually assault a girl inside a Southern California elementary school restroom.

Police received a report Friday afternoon that someone had jumped a fence at McAuliffe Elementary School in Riverside and entered a girls’ restroom. A campus supervisor later saw the man come out of the restroom and heard a girl crying inside, police said in a statement issued Saturday.

The supervisor followed the man as he jumped another fence and got into a vehicle in the school parking lot. He provided police with a detailed description of the vehicle and license plate number. 

Authorities, including detectives with the Sexual Assault–Child Abuse (SACA) Unit, found the suspect at a Placentia business where the vehicle he used was registered.

Logan Nighswonger was arrested on suspicion of attempted sex acts with a child under the age of 10 and being a registered sex offender on school grounds. He was being held without bail, according to jail records.

Jail records indicated an initial court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether he has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

"We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their swift action in apprehending and removing this threat to our society,” stated Alvord Unified School District Superintendent Allan Mucerino.  “Children should never experience a situation such as this and it deeply saddens me that this incident occurred.  It gives us pause and reinforces our commitment to school safety in recognition that even when we follow safety best practices and do everything in our power to secure our campuses there continues to be threats, which we will continue to work tirelessly to mitigate."

Anyone with additional information about the case was asked to contact SACA Detective Stacie Ontko at 951-353-7121 or SOntko@RiversideCA.gov.

Contact Us