Teen assaulted in donut shop, CA cops say. Now they’re looking for witnesses who helped

Police in California are asking the public to help them find the witnesses who saw and intervened during the sexual assault of a 13-year-old boy.

The boy was getting breakfast with his mother and brother at a doughnut shop in the 600 block of West Glenoaks Boulevard in Glendale, according to a news release by the Glendale Police Department.

As the family paid for their breakfast at the counter, a man walked up behind the 13-year-old boy and pinched his buttocks, officials said. The suspect was later identified as 36-year old Farid Lalezarzadeh.

A male witness saw it happen, and he and his friend intervened, officials said. After confronting Lalezarzadeh, he left, and the police were called.

The two men can be seen in the surveillance video approaching Lalezarzadeh after he is seen pinching the boy’s buttocks and quickly going to the hand sanitizer dispenser near the cashier.

Lalezarzdeh was arrested and booked on a charge of lewd acts with a child under 14 years old, according to the news release.

The Glendale Police Department urges the public to help find those who witnessed this incident as “their witness statements are crucial to the successful prosecution of the suspect.”

If you were a witness or know the witnesses, call the Glendale Police Department at 818-548-4911.

Glendale is a suburb in Los Angeles.

This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 2:36 PM.