Child Rapist Arrested for Attempting to Enter Home of 12-Year-Old Girl

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TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. – A child rapist and kidnapper was arrested for attempting to enter the home of a 12-year-old Twentynine Palms girl.

The girl was home alone in the 75900 block of Amboy Road on Sunday, March 31, 2019, at around 4:26 p.m., when deputies from the Morongo Basin Station were called to conduct a welfare check on a 12-year-old girl. The reporting party told dispatchers that the girl was home alone and there was an unknown Hispanic man attempting to enter the home. When deputies arrived, the man had left the location.

Deputies searched for the suspect, and around one mile east of the home, they found 31-year-old Twentynine Palms resident, Steven Thomas McLaughlin. Upon contact, he was found to be on active parole for a kidnapping and sexual offence. McLaughlin was positively identified as the person attempting to enter the home.

He was booked at the Morongo Basin Jail for attempted burglary, parole violation, and violation as a sex offender. McLaughlin was just released from jail on March 28, 2019, for a violation of PC 3056, parole violation and warrants. He is scheduled to appear at the Morongo Superior Court on Wednesday.

Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to contact the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Morongo Basin Station at (760)366-4175. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may contact We-Tip at 1-888-78-CRIME.