A registered sex offender was accused of jumping a six-foot fence at McAuliffe Elementary School in Riverside, trying to sexually assault a child in the girls' restroom, before fleeing in his work vehicle, authorities said.
Logan Nighswonger of Riverside, 32, 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 at Robert Presley Detention Center.
The shocking incident happened at the elementary school located in the 4100 block of Golden Avenue at around 12:30 p.m. Friday.
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The Riverside Police Department said Nighswonger allegedly hopped a school fence and went into the girls’ restroom. A campus supervisor said they saw Nighswonger come out of the bathroom and heard a third grader inside the restroom crying. Police told NBCLA the supervisor chased the suspect while another witness got a photo of the suspect’s vehicle, which turned out to be his work vehicle.
The work vehicle was traced back to an auto body shop in Placentia. Investigators found and detained Nighswonger, and he was taken back to Riverside where he was booked into jail.
“It's disheartening for me to report, and for everyone to hear, that an intruder snuck onto an elementary school campus this past Friday,” Alvord Unified School District said in a statement.
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“If you've been to McAuliffe you know there is a fortified entrance and no one can enter the campus without going through the office and checking in. There are also 6-foot fences and locked gates surrounding the school. There is a four-person supervision team and two administrators trained to supervise an elementary school campus.”
The district also said a support team of counselors would be on campus after the frightening attack.
"We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their swift action in apprehending and removing this threat to our society,” Alvord Unified School District Superintendent Allan Mucerino said in a statement. “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."
