Editor’s Note
Richland Source is not using the full names of some people interviewed for this story in an effort to protect the identities of the underage girls involved.
ONTARIO — The Ontario Police Department announced Tuesday afternoon that it has identified two individuals from a Jan. 6 incident involving three preteen girls.
According to a press release from Police Chief Tommy Hill, the department is not permitted to release the individuals’ identities as they haven’t been charged.
“To date, of all the social media postings we have observed, none have identified them accurately,” the press release said. “The two had been traveling through the area and had visited the day of the incident and have since returned to Michigan.
“The full investigative case has been turned over to the Prosecutor’s Office for review.”
Lt. Tony Grimwood said OPD officers have spoken to the individuals, a 64-year-old woman and 70-year-old man, in the past week. The individuals approached the girls around 9 p.m. on Jan. 6 in the Cinemark arcade room.
Grimwood said OPD has forwarded the case to the county prosecutor’s office and Ontario law director’s office for review to determine if the individuals could be charged.
“We’ll wait for them to review the case and proceed based upon their recommendations,” he said.
Mother starts petition for more security cameras
According to C.M., one of the girls’ mothers, the three reported the incident to the officer on duty after they realized none of them knew the individual that had touched one of the girls’ legs.
“My daughter jumped in her seat when one of them touched her and she didn’t run away because she thought it was her friend’s grandpa,” C.M. said. “I told her even if it were, it’s not OK for anybody to be touching your leg.”
Hill said OPD usually has an officer stationed at the theater each Friday and Saturday. He said two OPD officers searched the theater’s vicinity when the girls reported the incident to the officer on-duty.
“Unfortunately, the individuals had already left before we could talk to them,” he said. “We started the investigation that night.”
C.M. started a petition for more security cameras at the Cinemark after learning the details of the situation.
“I want to get a few thousand signatures before I take it to the theater,” she said. “There’s only a few places that kids can go in our community to hang out with their friends outside of home, and I want those places to be as safe as they can be.”
Video goes viral online
C.M. said family members shared the video of the girls playing the arcade game about a week after the incident. The family talked with police officers before sharing the video, which then went viral on different Facebook, TikTok and Instagram accounts.
“My daughter’s probably holding up better than I am, but we all just want these people to be caught,” she said. “The officer told her about free self-defense classes too, so she’ll be taking those.”
L.J., another mother of the girls, said her daughter was sleeping over at a friends’ house that night.
“She told me they wanted to record themselves playing the game so they could make a cute video, I’m assuming for Instagram,” she said. “(My daughter) told me she was in the game and one of the men touched her shoulder and asked if any of them had read ‘savvy women’s books.’
“She said when he asked them if they liked to read, she said no because she thought if she said yes, they would try to take them. She knew she had to talk with the police because it was wrong, but I don’t think she thought it was this serious.”
L.J. said each of the parents received multiple comments with different possible leads of who the individuals are, which they forwarded to police.
“We are so grateful to the community for helping us get the word out,” she said. “The only thing I truly care about is finding those men and making sure it doesn’t happen to any other children.
“We are so blessed God was watching over our babies.”
Police chief says ‘trust your instincts’
A.M., another mother, also thanked community members for sharing the video and supporting the girls involved.
“I always tell my daughter these types of things can happen, not to scare her but to make her aware,” she said. “If you ever feel like something is off, usually it is.”
A.M. said her daughter hid between two arcade games and came back to her friends when one of the strangers started walking closer to her.
“She was terrified,” A.M. said. “She was shocked for a few days after that it actually happened.”
Hill said if a stranger approaches any child or adult in a public space, they should yell for help, tell an employee or record with their cell phones.
“These young ladies did exactly what they were supposed to do,” he said. “If you think something’s not right, trust your instincts. With those videotapes, we have something to help us and look back on.”