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WEST VALLEY CITY — A West Valley man who police say crawled under a bathroom stall in a library to approach a 7-year-old boy was arrested for investigation of lewdness.
The boy was physically unharmed and "absolutely did the right thing" by screaming for his mother, scaring the man off, said West Valley police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku.
About 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, the boy was in a restroom at the Salt Lake County Library in West Valley City, 2880 W. 3650 South, when he saw a man "looking at him through the crack in the door," according to charging documents filed in 3rd District Court.
The man asked for some toilet paper, and then crawled under the stall door, exposed himself to the boy and asked him to perform a sex act, the charges state.
The boy screamed for his mother, causing the man to run off.
A West Valley police detective reviewed surveillance video from the library. On Wednesday, the officer was at the library to continue his investigation when the suspect walked in, Vainuku said. The officer recognized the man from the video, interviewed him and arrested him, according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.
Troy Michael Sickler, Jr., 24, was arrested Wednesday and charged the same day with lewdness involving a child, a class A misdemeanor.
Vainuku said if not for the child's screams, the situation could have ended much worse. She said the incident was a good reminder for parents to teach their children to scream, like the young boy did, if they find themselves in a similar situation.
It's also a good practice to accompany a young person into a restroom or attempt to make sure a restroom is clear of others if a mother or father can't go in with their son or daughter, she said.
