Nevada police say they nabbed a foot-fondler who would sneak into homes and startle women in their sleep in the Lake Tahoe area last summer.
Investigators say that 26-year-old Mark Gonzales broke into at least two condominiums in Stateline through unlocked screen doors. He would then find a woman sleeping, stand by the foot of her bed, and fondle her feet. When she would confront him, he would flee the scene.
“I will never forget how he crawled on the floor after he touched me in my most vulnerable state,” said a victim of the foot fondling to the Record-Courier.
Her husband said she hasn’t been the same since the incident.
“Since he broke into our room that morning, she has not been the same,” he said. “She is up at every bump in the night.”
Gonzales was arrested in Aug. 2022 at his home in Merced County in California and then extradited to Douglas County.
Investigators said that the two foot fondling incidents appeared to be an escalation of disturbing behavior by the man. Gonzales had allegedly stolen women’s shoes, trespassed, and even sexually gratified himself in previous incidents.
The Merced County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that he had been previously arrested in 2017 for trespassing and in 2019 for theft while on supervised release.
A Douglas County judge sentenced Gonzalez to eight to 20 years for two counts of burglary. He was also ordered to pay $435 to his victims but received 33 days’ credit for time served.
“These types of crimes are especially alarming to a community, and being able to make an arrest allows the victims and community to feel safe again,” read a statement from Douglas County Sheriff Dan Coverley about the case.
Residents of the Atwater community said the were stunned to discover one of their neighbors was accused of foot fondling.
“It’s scary! Especially, a small town, from here, I mean you don’t really expect something like that here, I know it didn’t happen here, but he’s from here, so,” said Maria Nash to KFSN-TV.
“So maybe he needs the kind of psychological help, if he’s on drugs, rehab, something. Maybe there is hope for him,” said Sylvia Gracia.
Atwater is a city of about 32,000 people in central California.
Here’s a news video about the foot fondler:
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!