Man faces charges in sexual assault at Las Vegas park
Las Vegas police arrested a 54-year-old man in connection with the sexual assault of a young girl at a central valley park.
The girl was playing at Lubertha Johnson Park, 2201 Concord St., with her mother on Aug. 20 when she took a break from catching butterflies to use the restroom, court records show.
When she went into the women’s bathroom, it was occupied, so she went to the men’s bathroom instead. According to court records, a homeless man followed her into the restroom and sexually assaulted her.
The girl told police she pushed the man, causing him to fall and hit his head on the sink, then ran out to tell her mother what had happened.
Her mother confronted the man, who tried to walk away. Her phone was dead, so she asked a man and woman nearby if she could use one of their phones to call the police, according to court records.
The male bystander punched the suspect in the face, and he ran. The girl’s mother searched the area trying to find the man before police arrived, but he escaped.
Witnesses who previously had seen the man in the area directed police toward a woman who knew him. She identified the man, and police arrested Marc Wheeler three days later in connection with the assault.
Wheeler was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Aug. 23 on two counts of sexual assault against a child under 14 and one count of kidnapping. He is being held without bail.
Contact Max Michor at mmichor@reviewjournal.com. Follow @MaxMichor on Twitter.
