The district attorney has dropped charges against a man accused
of accosting two girls outside R.O. Hardin Elementary School on
March 15, according to a press release from the San Benito County
District Attorney’s Office and Hollister Police Department.
The district attorney has dropped charges against a man accused of accosting two girls outside R.O. Hardin Elementary School on March 15, according to a press release from the San Benito County District Attorney’s Office and Hollister Police Department.
Police arrested Cristobal Trevino, 34, after one of the students thought she had recognized the man March 30 when he passed her home on a bicycle, after which a relative reported his whereabouts. Police later arrested him on Union Road.
The press release from the two agencies notes that further investigation showed “additional exculpatory evidence” while there is “insufficient evidence to continue with the prosecution.”
She and another girl had reported a man tried to lure them into his car March 15. According to police, at about 2:50 p.m. that day a car approached two girls as they had been walking on Line Street south of the school. The driver yelled forcefully at one of the girls to “get in the car,” according to police. The girls kept walking, but the driver continued following them and repeatedly asked one of the girls to get into the car, despite being told they would call police, according to police.
The driver drove past them and turned onto Apricot Lane. As the girls neared that street, they saw him on foot and met a group of adults and children in the area of Nash Road and Line Street. The suspect’s car drove off from there onto Nash Road, according to police.
They described the car as tan and an older model station wagon, possibly an Oldsmobile. It had tinted windows and shiny wheels, while in poor condition. They described the suspect as a Hispanic male in his mid- to late-30s with dark, curly hair, a mustache and a full beard. Witnesses said he walked with a limp.
Trevino was charged with suspicion of intent to commit a sexual offense with a minor and for annoying or molesting a minor. Trevino was in custody at the San Benito County Jail with bail of $50,000.
Police are still investigating the incident and anyone with any information should call the police department and officer Carlos Rodriguez at 636-4330. To anonymously report crimes, call WeTIP at (800) 78-CRIME.
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