Citizens apprehend Oregon molest suspect after sexual battery of teen girl at Mt. Shasta Mall

January 24, 2022 Trevor Montgomery

REDDING, Calif., — Authorities say concerned citizens were instrumental in the arrest of an Oregon man who sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl at the Mt. Shasta Mall in Redding Sunday afternoon, Jan. 23.

Multiple witnesses detained the suspect after he was seen fondling the buttocks of the teen as she stood in line waiting to order a meal at the mall’s Food Court, according to officials.

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City of Redding police officers were dispatched to the mall just after 4 p.m. after receiving reports of a disturbance at the mall, with several people and mall security guards reportedly detaining a man in the mall’s Food Court area, Redding Police Corporal Ferrin later said of the incident and arrest.

When officers arrived, they found a handcuffed man, later identified as 44-year-old, Daniel Lee Cremeans, of Portland, Oregon, surrounded by several angry and concerned mall-goers.

Daniel Cremeans, a 44-year-old transient from Oregon, was arrested for sexual battery and annoying / molesting a juvenile after allegedly grabbing and fondling the buttocks of a 15-year-old visiting the Mt. Shasta Mall in Redding yesterday afternoon. Redding PD photo

During their subsequent investigation, officers learned the teen victim was in line at the Food Court when Cremeans grabbed and fondled her buttocks.

Alerted to the sexual assault, “the citizens detained the male and summoned mall security who handcuffed the suspect and held him until police arrived on the scene,” Ferrin explained.

While being questioned, Cremeans admitted to the sexual battery and told officers “he had touched the victim’s buttocks for the purpose of his own sexual gratification,” the Corporal continued.

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Based on their investigation, officers arrested Cremeans and he was later booked into the Shasta County Jail in Redding on suspicion of annoying /molesting a minor and sexual battery.

Online jail records indicate he remains in custody in lieu of $5,000 bail or bond.

Anyone with further information regarding the suspect or this investigation is encouraged to contact Corporal Ferrin of the Redding Police Department at (530) 225-4200. Callers can refer to incident file number 22R005027 and can remain anonymous.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

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 30 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 18 grandchildren.