Traveling alone on bus, teen molested – parolee later arrested
SAN GORGONIO PASS — Officials arrested a Bakersfield parolee they say spent an hour “harassing and annoying” a 16-year-old girl traveling by herself on a Greyhound bus early Monday morning, May 27. According to CHP, the victim was traveling home to Los Angeles along the westbound I-10 through the San Gorgonio Pass area after attending Comic Con; a comic book convention in Phoenix, AZ.
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CHP was first alerted to the incident around 5 a.m., after the teenage victim managed to discretely send a text message to a family member for help. CHP officers stopped the bus a short time later as it traveled on Etiwanda Ave. in Rancho Cucamonga, at which time the suspect was detained without incident.
The victim told investigating officers she had been sitting by herself at the back of the mostly empty bus when 49-year-old, Eric Prindle moved to the back of the bus and sat in an empty seat next to her. Prindle then spent the next hour inappropriately harassing and annoying the victim, until she was able to contact family members and ask for help, according to CHP Officer Darren Meyer.
During their investigation, officers determined Prindle was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon and he was arrested for annoying or molesting a child and being under the influence of methamphetamine. Both are misdemeanor charges. He was booked into Larry D Smith Correctional Facility in Banning and was released a few hours later with a citation.
The victim was later released to her family member.
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Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.
How convenient. The bus was stopped a few minutes away from the West Valley Detention Center on Etiwanda Ave.
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