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Aug 22, 2022
A Riverside man was arrested Friday after allegedly jumping the fence of a local elementary school and attempting to sexually assault a girl inside of the building’s restroom.
In a statement issued by Riverside Police, officials confirmed that a campus supervisor at McAuliffe Elementary School in Riverside saw a man come out of the girls bathroom and heard a girl crying inside. The campus supervisor then proceeded to follow the suspect, identified later as 32-year-old Logan Nighswonger, as he jumped other fences on the property and ran to the parking lot. Nighswonger reportedly proceeded to enter a vehicle and flee the scene.
The campus supervisor provided a detailed vehicle description and license plate as the suspect drove away, according to Riverside Police.
Riverside Police School Resource Officers were immediately assigned to the Alvord Unified School District and began investigating. The School Resource Officers were assisted by detectives with the Riverside Police Sexual Assault – Child Abuse (SACA) Unit and specialists from the Forensics Unit.
The Riverside Police METRO Team responded to a business located in Placentia, California, where the vehicle which the suspect used to flee the scene was registered. Nighswonger, a registered sex offender, was located, safely detained, and eventually transported back to Riverside where he was booked into jail, according to the police statement.
>Logan Nighswonger was arrested on the following charges:
At the time of booking, the suspect was being held without bail, according to an NBC 4 Los Angeles report. The Los Angeles Times confirmed Sunday that Nighswonger was still incarcerated at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
Jail records indicated that Nighswonger’s initial court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether or not the registered sex offender had obtained an attorney who could speak on his behalf, according to a Los Angeles Times report.
“We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their swift action in apprehending and removing this threat to our society,” Alvord Unified School District Superintendent Allan Mucerino said following Nighswonger’s arrest. “Children should never experience a situation such as this and it deeply saddens me that this incident occurred. It gives us pause and reinforces our commitment to school safety in recognition that even when we follow safety best practices and do everything in our power to secure our campuses there continues to be threats, which we will continue to work tirelessly to mitigate.”
“The safety of our students and staff at school will always remain amongst our top priorities,” Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez added. “When that safety is put at risk, we will do everything within the law to quickly find and arrest the person responsible as we did yesterday.”
In 2015, a Riverside Police Department notification confirmed that officials were investigating two separate incidents involving Nighswonger after he allegedly made inappropriate comments to children and exposed himself to students at Mark Twain Elementary. Several students were reportedly able to provide a vehicle description and license plate after the suspect fled the scene.
Nighswonger was arrested after those 2015 incidents and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for two counts of annoying/molesting a child and one count of indecent exposure.
“The investigation led investigating officers to believe these types of incidents might have occurred at other local elementary schools in Riverside and the city of Corona. Riverside Police believe there may be more children victimized by the suspect. We are seeking the public’s help in identifying any other possible victims,” officials said in a statement at the time of Nighswonger’s arrest.
Court records indicated that Nighswonger was convicted of annoying/molesting a child under 18 years of age in 2016 following the previous year’s incidents.
This investigation into Friday’s incident involving the young girl at McAuliffe Elementary School is still ongoing, Riverside Police said. Given Nighswonger’s history and confirmed sex offender status, authorities have indicated that there may be additional victims who have yet to be identified.
Anyone with additional information regarding an incident involving Logan Nighswonger is urged to contact SACA Detective Stacie Ontko at 951-353-7121 or SOntko@RiversideCA.gov.
Under California Penal Code 290 CPC, sex offenders moving to the state must register with the state’s sex offender registry within five days of arriving. All individuals on the California sex offender registry must renew their registration annually, within five working days of the person’s birthday, according to state law. California sex offenders must also re-register whenever moving to a new address.
Registered sex offenders moving from California to another state must comply with that specific location’s laws and requirements.
After California-based sex offenders register with a local law enforcement agency, their information is then added to the California Sex and Arson Registry (CSAR) database. CSAR is a private, statewide repository for information on registered sex offenders, allowing law enforcement officials to monitor those individuals on the list.
Under Megan’s Law, a separate database is made accessible to the public based on select information extracted from that main database. The separate Megan’s Law database is intended to help members of the public better protect themselves and their families by providing searchable information on sex offenders. However, it should be noted that while law enforcement has access to information on all registered sex offenders in California, not every individual in the CSAR database is included in the Megan’s Law database which is accessible to the public.
In addition to Megan’s Law, California established Jessica’s Law in 2006. Via state legislation, several hurdles were imposed on registered sex offenders, such as:
As of January 1, 2021, SB 384 officially replaced California’s previous universal lifetime-based registration system requirement for sex offenders with a tier-based system. Under the new system, three tiers of registration were established for adult sex offenders for periods of either 10 years (tier one), 20 years (tier two), or life (tier three). The tiers, which are assigned by severity, are further explained below.
Any juvenile convicted of a sex crime is now required to register as a sex offender for a minimum of either five or 10 years.
Under California AB 218, the landmark legislation which took effect in 2020, all survivors of childhood sexual abuse are currently eligible to file civil claims against a perpetrator seeking financial compensation. AB 218 applies regardless of how long ago the crime occurred under what’s known as a three-year “lookback window.” Also commonly referred to as a revival window, this limited opportunity affords all survivors of child sex abuse an opportunity to obtain the justice they deserve.
The statute of limitations is currently paused under the AB 218 legislation. Accordingly, any survivor of childhood sexual abuse may now immediately file a civil lawsuit for damages with Dordulian Law Group, regardless of how long ago the crime occurred.
However, the limited three-year lookback window officially closes on January 1, 2023. As a result, if survivors whose crimes occurred outside of the standard statute of limitations do not file claims by December 31, 2022, they will likely be left without any future legal recourse.
Dordulian Law Group’s (DLG) experienced child sexual abuse lawyers are here to fight for survivors and help them recover the maximum financial compensation they deserve. Don’t wait to file your claim and miss out on an unprecedented (and limited) opportunity at securing justice under California AB 218.
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Known as the SAJE Team (Sexual Abuse Justice Experts), DLG’s experienced professionals offer survivors a unique and all-encompassing experience:
If you experienced a sexual assault incident, don’t wait to file a claim. Contact our expert attorneys online or by phone for a free consultation today.
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