A registered sex offender is back behind bars after he allegedly broke into a California family's home. The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Daniel Diaz, was seen prowling outside the house around 5 a.m.
Diaz reportedly knocked on the door and tried to enter their home. The girl's father then saw the man peering through the windows with his private parts exposed. He lost sight of Diaz, who proceeded to remove a screen from one of the windows and climbed into the young girl's bedroom.
"The man turned on the lights, and that's when my sister woke up, and she got scared," Ceci Ramirez, the girl's older sister, told KOVR.
"I was pretty scared because I thought the man would've taken and kidnapped her," Ramirez added.
Their father rushed into the room to confront Diaz and chased him out into the yard. They fought, but Diaz was subdued, and the girl's parents tied him up with duct tape until the police arrived. Police believe that Diaz was under the influence of illegal drugs at the time of his arrest.
Diaz was taken to the Stanislaus County Jail, where he is being held on charges of suspicion of home invasion, peeping and prowling, burglary, and child abuse. A judge set his bond at $150,000.
Diaz is listed as a registered sex offender after being convicted of assault with intent to commit rape in 2009. He was released from prison in 2018.