SUGAR LAND, Texas – A father said his plan to protect his daughter from an alleged molester backfired, and now he has a warning for other parents.
The father said he and his family went to the GattiTown family restaurant and game center in the 3400 block of state Highway 6 South in Sugar Land on Sunday. He said his daughter had gone to the laser tag room and came running back over to him in a panic.
"She looked kind of disoriented and confused and she was upset," the father said. "I could tell she had been crying."
The man's daughter is 18 years old, but, because of disabilities, she has the mental capacity of a 14-year-old.
The father said his daughter told him she had just been attacked by a man.
"He had got her and pushed her into a corner and was trying to kiss her and she rustled out and got away from him," said the father. "I went to daddy mode."
The father said he asked the manager to call the police and then he had his daughter point out the attacker.
"When he turned around and saw her, he ran up the stairs," the father said.
The father admitted he shoved the man.
"I said he's not going out of the building until the cops get here," said the father.
When Sugar Land police showed up, the father said he was shocked to see the alleged attacker wasn't the only one getting a ticket for misdemeanor assault.
"I got the same exact ticket for pushing him," the father said.
Police said with no surveillance video or additional witnesses to the alleged sexual assault, they couldn't pursue more charges against the man. They also said they couldn't ignore the father's behavior.
The father said he plans to fight his assault ticket.
"I should not have to pay a fine for protecting someone that cannot protect themselves," the father said. "That's my daughter."