Menifee man faces charge of child molesting in local park

Story has been corrected to indicate that the site in question is actually a part of City Council District 1, so Greg August is the representative. Matt Liesemeyer, the rep for District 2, is chair of the public safety committee.

A Menifee man is in jail awaiting a Friday court date on multiple criminal charges of child molestation following an incident at La Ladera Park Tuesday night.

Roland Riddell, 21, remains at custody in Southwest Detention Center with bail set at $55,000, according to jail records. The listed charges are a felony count of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and a misdemeanor count of annoying/molesting a child.

According to an email from Sheriff's Deputy Robyn Flores to Menifee 24/7 Wednesday morning, police received a report of "sexual battery involving a minor" in the 29600 block of La Ladera Road about 6:30 p.m. Video taken by one of a few men who chased the suspect from the park to a neighborhood street shows the men surrounding the suspect while waiting for police to arrive.

Jason De Bie, who posted a video that was shared many times on social media, said he was coaching his son's baseball team at the park when he became aware of the incident at the adjacent playground.

"My daughter went up to the mom of the girl who was fondled and said, 'That guy is trying to touch her,'" De Bie said. "She got on the phone (with police). He saw what was happening and started to walk away from the park. The girl's dad went after him. A few of us chased him down and tackled him to the ground."

The video shows one of the men who ran from the ballfield holding a baseball bat, but it was not used as a weapon. The men did, however, have to wait 10 minutes for police to arrive -- a point of concern to De Bie and others.

"The video lasted four minutes and I know she was on the phone with police for at least 4-5 minutes before that," De Bie said. "Within five minutes, someone should've been there."

His concern was shared by Menifee City Council member Matt Liesemeyer, who is chairman of the city's public safety committee. He also spoke to De Bie on Wednesday.

"I'm deeply sorry that this took place in our city," Liesemeyer told Menifee 24/7. "As a parent of a young girl myself, I have to commend the men in this situation for the restraint they showed. I'm not so sure most men would have thought twice about street justice in this situation.

"Unfortunately, however, this is indicative of a much larger problem that extends beyond our great city. Speaking to our own situation here in Menifee, there are details and questions that I am still seeking answers to. All I know is that our current state of affairs with respects to public safety and how we handle policing MUST change."

Liesemeyer is a proponent of Menifee creating its own police department rather than continuing as a contract city with the Sheriff's Department. Some believe this would enable the city to put more officers in the streets. Funds generated from taxes through Measure DD have allowed the City of Menifee to budget for four additional Sheriff's officers. However, according to Cpt. Greg Fellows, no additional officers are available until more graduate from the Sheriff's Academy and are trained.

Fellows confirmed that the response time was 10 minutes in this case. He said the call was classified as a Priority 2 call. He said the call log shows that the initial dispatch was made as an "attempted sexual battery" but that information was relayed to responding officers about six minutes later that the battery had actually occurred and that "a coach was present with a baseball bat but was not threatening the suspect with it." Four minutes later, the officers arrived on scene and took the suspect into custody without incident.

"Please note that it takes time to traverse through the city, especially during peak traffic periods," Fellows said. "In addition, our average response time to Priority 2 calls in 2017 was 19 minutes. For Priority 1 calls, the average response time was a little over 8 minutes. The call for service was dispatched with the appropriate priority, and comparatively speaking, the response time was very good.

"Unlike a Priority 1 call, which involves the potential for an immediate loss of life, Priority 2 calls are serious/urgent situations requiring law enforcement help as well as crimes in progress where a suspect is present. Examples are the call we are discussing, a fight in progress, major family disturbances, and many more. All calls are different, so Dispatch evaluates the information they receive to prioritize it appropriately."

De Bie said the video that circulated on social media was sent to him by the man who shot it, and that De Bie posted it on his own page. It was shared many times from there. By mid-afternoon, De Bie had removed the video, saying he did so because he was receiving threats. He didn't elaborate.