Suspect or suspects who groped minors in Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills sought by deputies

Orange County sheriff’s deputies sought the public’s help Wednesday in tracking down suspects in separate incidents in Aliso Viejo and Laguna Hills after two underage girls reported they were touched by men while walking to and from school.

A 12-year-old girl told deputies that she was walking to Aliso Viejo Middle School on Thursday, Sept. 12 at about 9 a.m., when a suspect touched her. She shouted at him before running to the school and reporting what happened.

She said the suspect was possibly a white man in his early 30s with “dirty blond hair” and a goatee. He wore sunglasses and was clad in black clothing.

A 16-year-old girl told deputies on Tuesday, Sept. 17, about a separate incident in which she was accosted by a man while she was walking home from Aliso Niguel High School along the Aliso Creek Hiking Trail in Laguna Hills. The teen said the man pulled on her skirt, prompting her to slap his hand away and run home.

That suspect was described as a possibly Latino man in his 30s, 5-foot-6 and 140 pounds, with short, black hair. He wore sunglasses and was dressed in a black-collared shirt and tan cargo pants.

Deputies were working to see if the incidents were connected.

Anyone with information was asked to call sheriff’s deputies at 714-647-7419. Orange County Crime Stoppers will accept anonymous tips at 855-TIP-OCCS.