A man appeared in local court on Tuesday after he was accused of grabbing a boy out of a pool at Las Vegas’s Grand View Resort on Saturday.
The suspect tried to get the child to go to a bathroom at the Las Vegas property in what police claim was an attempt to lure the boy for sex.
But the wary boy went back into the pool from a deck, authorities said.
Sheldon Lynel Barber of Tallahassee, Fla., was charged with kidnapping a minor, luring a minor to engage in a sex act, and contact with a minor, according to Las Vegas TV station KLAS.
He was released from Clark County Detention Center after posting bond. He can’t return to the hotel.
Witness Accounts
Witnesses told Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers that Barber was at the pool when he called the child a “mommy’s boy.”
He initially held out his hand as if to give the boy a handshake, police said. Instead, that’s when he allegedly grabbed the boy by the arm, the Las Vegas Sun reported.
A cousin of the victim told police that she saw Barber pull the boy out of the pool on Saturday. The boy’s mother had been helping the boy swim and also witnessed the unwanted interchange between the boy and Barber.
The boy later told his mother that the man wanted him to go to the bathroom, police said. The boy called the man “dangerous,” the Sun reported.
After the boy returned to the pool, Barber allegedly began looking at a four-year-old girl who was also at the pool.
It was then that security guards responded.
A security guard had asked Barber to leave the pool area. At first he did, but he reportedly later returned and had changed his clothes.
The female cousin also was in the pool on a prior night. Barber allegedly kept on looking at her, she claimed.
When she left to go elsewhere, he allegedly followed her and began to ask her how old she was and wanted to know what she was doing later that night, police said.
Both the female cousin and the boy reported feeling uncomfortable after interactions with Barber, police said. Officers didn’t reveal their ages.
None of the victims was injured.
Tried to Lure Women
Later, police were told Barber allegedly tried to get women at the pool to go up to his hotel room with him. He also attempted to get a female cleaning attendant to go into a hotel room.
When questioned, Barber didn’t provide details to officers, instead telling them to “call my lawyer,” police said.
When his clothes were searched, officers discovered a sexual enhancement herbal supplement, police said.
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