Man sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for sexually abusing girl in Riverside elementary school bathroom – Press Enterprise

RIVERSIDE – A convicted sex offender who sexually assaulted a third-grader in the bathroom of a Riverside elementary school was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years to life in prison.

Logan Allen Nighswonger, 34, of Riverside pleaded guilty in May to forcing a child under 14 to perform sexual acts as part of a negotiated agreement with the Riverside District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped three related charges against Nighswonger.

During a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice on Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Joshlyn Pulliam upheld the terms of the agreement and imposed the sentence agreed to by the prosecution and defense.

Nighswonger committed the sexual assault on August 19, 2022, at McAuliffe Elementary School in the 4100 block of Golden Avenue.

According to Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback, the defendant jumped over the campus’s perimeter fence around 12:30 p.m. and entered a building where classes were in session.

An administrator, whose identity was not disclosed, saw him moments later coming out of a girls’ restroom where a child could be heard screaming and crying, Railsback said.

According to court documents, Nighswonger cornered the 10-year-old victim, identified only as “AR,” groped her for an unspecified period of time and then fled.

“Children should never experience a situation like this, and I am deeply saddened that this incident occurred,” said Allan Mucerino, superintendent of the Alvord Unified School District, in a statement released shortly afterward. “It gives us food for thought and reinforces our commitment to school safety, as we recognize that even when we follow best safety practices and do everything in our power to secure our campuses, threats still exist.”

According to Railsback, the administrator observed the 6-foot-3 sex participant leave the restroom, exit the building, and jump over another fence on his way off school grounds.

The witness observed the car in which the defendant drove away and noted the license plate number. He passed this information on to the police a few moments later in an emergency call.

The police department’s Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit quickly developed evidence that Nighswonger had gone to Placentia, where he was arrested without incident on Melrose Street less than four hours later. The defendant was then transported back to Riverside and booked into jail.

He had already been convicted twice for molesting minors.