A high-risk registered sex offender was arrested Wednesday afternoon in San Mateo after video footage showed him pulling down his pants, bear-hugging a 10-year-old girl and thrusting against her, then running off when she pulled away, according to police.
At about 2:08 p.m., officers arrested Ignacio Rosendo Martinez, a 46-year-old transient, as he was hiding in an apartment complex boiler room a few blocks away from the incident at the Mas Wash and Dry Laundromat at 364 N. Ellsworth Ave. about 30 minutes prior, according to police.
Before the incident, two sisters, 10 and 12, rode their bicycles to the laundromat and, as the older sister was locking up their bikes, the younger one went inside to exchange coins. While doing so, Martinez is alleged to have bear-hugged her with his pants down and thrusting his pelvis for about 25 seconds. He is alleged to have tried to pull her into a backroom. She escaped his tight grip and ran outside where she found her sister. Both went home quickly and told their mother, who called 911, according to police.
Officers searched the area but could not find the suspect. At around 2 p.m., officers were called to an apartment complex on the 200 block of Elm Street regarding a trespassing homeless man. Police found him in the boiler room and identified him as the same person in video footage from the laundromat. He was also later identified by the victim, according to police.
The San Mateo Police Department continues to investigate this case. According to http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/, Ignacio Martinez is listed as a high risk sex offender. If you or someone you know has been victimized by him contact the San Mateo Police Department at (650) 522-7700. Anonymous tips can be submitted to http://tinyurl.com/SMPDTips or by calling (650) 522-7676.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.