YAVAPAI COUNTY, Ariz. — An Arizona mother took swift action to rescue her daughter from a registered sex offender after he allegedly broke into the family's home and got into the child's bed, authorities in Yavapai County said.
At about 3 a.m. on Wednesday, the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to a trespassing call in Paulden after a Prescott man allegedly broke into a home occupied by Mayla Hogan and her two children.
YCSO said Lloyd Beard, 54, touched the 12-year-old daughter's face before Hogan awoke to find Beard in her daughter's room.
The mother physically removed Beard from the home after he refused to leave. YCSO said Beard proceeded to expose himself to the mother and threatened to "drop her."
“I was telling him to get out, and I was opening the door because he just wasn’t responding. And, of course, I physically removed him from the house. But when I did that, I was able to tell that his pants were down," said Hogan.
Beard took off running as the mother and her teenage son chased after him. The suspect was later apprehended by deputies, who found him lying on the ground with his pants down. He had sustained minor injuries from the scuffle with the mother.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Una madre de Arizona ahuyenta a un agresor sexual de la recamara de su hija, dice la policía
“If I’m being honest, my mom got a couple, a lot of hits in," Hogan's son said.
The suspect has been booked into jail for charges of burglary, aggravated assault, criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct, and indecent exposure.
Public records show Beard had previously been convicted of a sex crime in Colorado. He had registered last week as a Level 3 offender with the Sheriff's Office.
YCSO credited the mother's quick thinking for helping to protect her daughter and get Beard off the streets.
“By the grace of God I’m a rough neck, by the grace of God I have good children, and by that same grace of god we will prevail," said Hogan.
"Violent sexual crimes against children are among the most heinous offenses I can think of. I am always as shocked as all of you at the capacity of these appalling offenders to prey on the vulnerable,” said Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes.
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