San Francisco police are stepping up efforts to locate a 68-year-old man believed to have sexually assaulted his 8-year-old step-granddaughter at her school Thursday.
Police have contacted the FBI and the U.S. Border Patrol, as well as Mexican authorities, in a search for Pedro Hernandez, who is believed to have assaulted the girl at Sanchez Elementary School in the Mission District around noon Thursday.
Police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said Hernandez arrived at the school to bring lunch to the girl and a female school district employee saw him “being overly affectionate toward the victim” and became suspicious.
The same employee then caught Hernandez allegedly sexually assaulting the girl in a stairwell area inside the school and Hernandez fled on foot, Esparza said. The woman called police.
Esparza said Hernandez allegedly assaulted the girl in the stairwell multiple times and the acts were recorded on a video surveillance camera.
According to police, Hernandez has known the girl’s family for several years and has lived with them on and off.
Police believe he may be in San Francisco or in Richmond, but also are examining the possibility he may have headed toward Mexico, where he visits frequently, Esparza said.
Police are working with the girl’s family to locate Hernandez, and have issued a $2 million warrant for his arrest.
Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call San Francisco police at (415) 575-4444.
Hernandez is 5 feet 2 inches tall, 140 pounds and has a moustache. He was last seen wearing a gray shirt, blue jeans and a bluish-gray baseball cap.
