A man allegedly molested two children, including one near a Roswell elementary school, authorities said.
Elmer Santos Cante is accused of inappropriately grabbing a young child who was walking with her mother near Mimosa Elementary School on Friday, Roswell police told Channel 2 Action News.
Santos Cante ran off after the child’s mother screamed, but a school resource officer snapped his photo, which police said was vital evidence that led to his arrest Wednesday. That photo has not been released.
Jaqueline Duran-Soto told Channel 2 she was walking her two young kids along Warsaw Road when Santos Cante approached them from behind.
“I told my daughters to wait for this guy to pass first because I felt something was wrong,” Duran-Soto told the news station through an interpreter.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Roswell police spokeswoman Lisa Holland told the news station he began petting Duran-Soto’s daughter on the head before grabbing it.
“(He was) telling her how beautiful they were, started petting them on the head,” Holland said.
Duran-Soto screamed and picked up her daughter, prompting the man to run away, Channel 2 reported.
Hours after that incident, Santos Cante is accused of striking again at the Eagles Crest Village Lane apartment complex, Channel 2 reported. This time, he’s accused of grabbing an 11-year-old girl.
“She was going to her friend’s house, and there was a man standing by the stairs, and he just started to grab her,” the child’s mother, who asked the news station to remain anonymous, said.
Holland said the resource officer’s photo helped police tie Santos Cante to both incidents since he wore the same clothes.
“One of the features that stood out about him was that he was wearing a red ball cap in both of these incidents,” Holland said.
Santos Cante faces charges of simple battery and child molestation. As of Thursday afternoon, he remained in the Fulton County Jail without bond, according to records.
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