Berkeley Child Harassment Suspect Arrested

BERKELEY, CA — A 33-year-old man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of harassing a child, the Berkeley Police Department said.

The arrest was in connection with an incident Tuesday at around 3:30 p.m. in the area of College and Ashby avenues according to police.

A man was walking with his 8-year-old daughter when the suspect approached them and started talking the girl as if she was his own daughter, police said.

When the girl ran away the suspect chased after her while the father tried to block the suspect’s path.

The suspect chased the girl east on Ashby Avenue, then north on Piedmont Avenue, and then west on Russell Street until she reached the Fire Station at 2710 Russell Street — where there were several firefighters outside who took the girl inside for safety and called for emergency police assistance.

Officers shortly afterwards found the suspect in the area of Claremont Avenue and The Uplands and arrested him on suspicion of harassing/annoying a child and willfully causing a child to suffer, police said.

Officers recognized the suspect from a May 5 incident in which he was arrested after entering the secured playground area of a childcare center and "began yelling and threatening to take the children," police said.

“We are thankful for the Fire Department and others in the community who assisted in preventing the suspect from harming a young member of our community,” the BPD said in a statement.