Police Arrest Man for Soliciting a Child in Murphy Park
By: Cassidy Hodges
Updated: May 6, 2012
"It's scary and it always goes through my mind--that could have been my kid," says Jennifer Jolly.
What started as a birthday party at Murphy Park in Springdale, ended with police arresting this man for soliciting a child.
"It was just an opportunity and he thought he would try and lure a 12 year old female into the bathroom with him," says Lieutenant Kevin Lewis with the Springdale Police Department.
Investigators say 60-year-old Esteban Hernandez offered a girl twenty dollars to go into the bathroom with him.
At first, she took the money, but then ran to tell her dad, who then called police.
"The best way to take care of all this is for that child to go to the parent and say, 'Hey this has happened.' And I think communicating with your parents is the secret to a lot of stuff in life," says Lewis.
So Lieutenant Lewis says this child did the right thing.
"If a stranger comes up to you and tries to talk to you and you're definitely uncomfortable the first thing to do is yell no really loud," says Lewis.
Parents at this park are concerned that a potential predator may have been lurking.
"It's good to know that they caught the guy and it's good to know that he's no longer on the streets," says Jolly.
"It's not shocking though, the world is just totally different than it used to be," says Brittney Mulanax.
But police want people know this is not a perpetual problem.
"This is something that we definitely don't run across a lot," says Lewis.
Still, parents are cautious.
"I keep a very close watch on them. I usually don't let them out of my eyesight," says Linda Cook.
Because it's better to be safe than sorry.
What started as a birthday party at Murphy Park in Springdale, ended with police arresting this man for soliciting a child.
"It was just an opportunity and he thought he would try and lure a 12 year old female into the bathroom with him," says Lieutenant Kevin Lewis with the Springdale Police Department.
Investigators say 60-year-old Esteban Hernandez offered a girl twenty dollars to go into the bathroom with him.
At first, she took the money, but then ran to tell her dad, who then called police.
"The best way to take care of all this is for that child to go to the parent and say, 'Hey this has happened.' And I think communicating with your parents is the secret to a lot of stuff in life," says Lewis.
So Lieutenant Lewis says this child did the right thing.
"If a stranger comes up to you and tries to talk to you and you're definitely uncomfortable the first thing to do is yell no really loud," says Lewis.
Parents at this park are concerned that a potential predator may have been lurking.
"It's good to know that they caught the guy and it's good to know that he's no longer on the streets," says Jolly.
"It's not shocking though, the world is just totally different than it used to be," says Brittney Mulanax.
But police want people know this is not a perpetual problem.
"This is something that we definitely don't run across a lot," says Lewis.
Still, parents are cautious.
"I keep a very close watch on them. I usually don't let them out of my eyesight," says Linda Cook.
Because it's better to be safe than sorry.
