GRAYSON, Calif. — The father of a 5-year-old girl captured and restrained a man with duct tape after the alleged intruder crawled through the window of the child’s bedroom, authorities said.
Daniel Diaz, 39, of Los Banos, was charged with suspicion of home invasion, peeping and prowling, burglary and child abuse, according to Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office online booking records.
Diaz is a registered sex offender, KXTV reported. According to the Megan’s Law website, Diaz was convicted of assault with intent to commit rape in 2009 and later released in 2018.
According to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office, the child’s father caught a man prowling around his house at about 5 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, KXTL reported.
Ceci Ramirez, who translated for her mother, Martha Zepeda, told KOVR that Diaz was lurking around the home.
“He went and knocked the door, he tried to open the door, peeking through the window, trying to see and he was showing his private parts around the windows,” Ramirez told the television station.
Family members thought the man had left, but heard a noise moments later.
“That’s when they heard a giant, loud noise and that’s when her husband went to go check,” Ramirez told KXTV, quoting her mother.
According to the sheriff’s office, Diaz took a screen off one of the home’s windows and crawled into the girl’s bedroom, KTXL reported.
That is when the child’s father entered the room and forced Diaz outside, KOVR reported. He wrestled with Diaz and subdued him in the yard, and his wife helped restrain him with duct tape, the television station reported.
Security footage captured the group outside and shows the child’s father pinning Diaz to the ground, according to KOVR.
Authorities arrived 15 minutes later and arrested Diaz. Bail was set at $150,000, online records show.