9-year-old girl sexually assaulted in children’s area of library, California cops say

A 53-year-old Los Angeles man sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl at an Orange County library, California police say.

Christopher Eduard approached the girl in the children’s section at the Irvine Heritage Park branch of the Orange County public library Tuesday, March 21, Irvine police said in a news release.

Eduard asked her to help film a video, gave her his phone and had her read from cue cards, police said. He then exposed himself and sexually assaulted her, according to police.

Investigators pored over security camera footage to identify Eduard, who was arrested Friday, March 24. A search of his home found evidence linking him to the crime, police said.

Eduard faces charges including sexual assault of a child, production of child pornography and false imprisonment of a child to produce child pornography, police told McClatchy News.

Eduard was released from jail Saturday on bond, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Investigators believe he may be responsible for other crimes. They ask anyone with information to contact detective Nate Ridlon at nridlon@cityofirvine.org.

Irvine is a city of 310,000 people about 45 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published March 27, 2023 at 4:05 PM with the headline "9-year-old girl sexually assaulted in children’s area of library, California cops say."