Man accused of leering at kids is arrested days after ‘creepy’ incident at Dixon store
A man accused of making creepy comments about a little girl last week was arrested Tuesday evening after he was reportedly spotted leering at children in Dixon, police said.
Matthew Allen Brauer was in custody Wednesday afternoon at the Solano County Jail after he was arrested on suspicion of committing a public nuisance, a misdemeanor charge. His bail amount was set at $1,600, according to jail records. Police believe Brauer is a homeless man from the Modesto area.
Police first became aware of Brauer, 29, after he reportedly went into the Dixon Charity Shop on Friday and made the disturbing comments about the owner’s 8-year-old daughter. The incident was captured on security camera video.
Samantha Porto says her daughter was next to two of her employees when Brauer could be heard asking, “How much for the little girl?” He also asked if that was the “little white girl kidnapping crew?”
“As a mother, I was terrified,” Porto told The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday.
Lt. Mike Tegeler of the Dixon Police Department said the incident at the store was reported to police, but there wasn’t much officers could do at that point. He said Brauer had not assaulted or touched anyone at the store.
“Is it weird? Is it creepy? Absolutely. But it wasn’t against the law,” Tegeler told The Bee.
He said photos of Brauer were distributed to officers as they headed out on patrol to keep an eye out for him.
Porto wished the officers could’ve done more initially. After hearing the exchange, Porto chased Brauer down the street and took his picture with her phone. When she went back into the store, she found her daughter hiding behind the shelves in the back room, terrified.
Eventually, Porto decided to write about the disturbing interaction on the Dixon community page and her personal story on Facebook a few days later.
“I wanted the community to be aware of this man and for parents to know his face and look out for their children,” she said.
The post gained traction from the community — locals described sightings of Brauer at baseball games, grocery stores and parks staring at children.
About 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, police received calls reporting Brauer was spotted in the area of Regency Parkway leering at groups of children before walking away, Tegeler said. About 6 p.m., officers spotted Brauer in the area of Lincoln and First streets in Dixon and took him into custody.
Tegeler said officers had enough probable cause to arrest Brauer on suspicion of committing a misdemeanor.
“I’m relieved but also a little frustrated it took multiple instances that could’ve been prevented to bring us to this point, and other people had to go through this as well,” Porto said. “But I’m just glad he’s off the streets and we can all sleep a little bit better at night.”
