Tustin police seek public’s help in case of man recently charged with lewd acts against child a dozen years ago

Tustin police are seeking the public’s help in a case of a 67-year-old man charged in October with committing lewd acts against a child about 12 years ago.

Gerardo Garcia Lopez of Spokane, Wash., was booked into the Orange County Jail on Oct. 26 and was being held on $1 million dollar bail,  police announced on Sunday, Nov. 4.

The investigation began after the allegations were reported to police in May 2016, Tustin Police Lt. Robert Wright said.

“The victim … was now 14-years-old and alleged the crime occurred approximately 10 years prior,” Wright said in a news release.

Police first became aware of Lopez in December of 2011, when the Tustin Police Department received a call about a 13-year-old girl who was “possibly sexually assaulted by her babysitter’s adult friend,” Wright said. Detectives investigated, but there was not enough evidence for prosecutors to file charges at that time, he said in the release.

The 13-year-old girl was not the victim in the case in which Lopez has been charged, Wright said.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office filed six felony counts of lewd acts with a minor under the age of 14 against Lopez on Oct. 4, 2018. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was taken into custody with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service, Wright said. Lopez waived extradition, according to the release.

Anyone with information about Lopez is asked to contact Tustin Police Det. Nguyen at 714-573-3372.