PALO ALTO — A man went into a parked car and rubbed his exposed penis while holding a knife to a 7-year-old boy in Palo Alto early Friday, according to authorities.
The child and an 11-month-old boy were left in his mother’s vehicle in the 100 block of Hamilton Avenue as she went inside a nearby shop where her boyfriend worked at 12:35 a.m., according to police.
About ten minutes later, she returned to discover an unfamiliar male in the driver’s seat, touching himself and holding the knife on the older child, according to authorities.
The woman hurried inside to seek assistance, and when she returned with her boyfriend, they surprised the man, who escaped on foot, according to authorities.
Police eventually established that the male sexually abused the 7-year-old and smacked the infant in the face after pulling the youngster from a car seat. The mother also realized that her boyfriend’s wallet, which contained $400, was missing from the vehicle’s center console.
Joshua Keenan Brass, 30, of East Palo Alto, was arrested at 4 a.m. near the junction of Emerson Street and Lytton Avenue, police said. He was charged with committing a lewd act on a minor, assault with a deadly weapon, child endangerment, assault with intent to do a sex act, and kidnapping with intent to commit a sex act, according to police.
Anyone with information about this event is asked to contact Palo Alto police at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be provided by email to [email protected], text message, or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.