PLEASANTON — Back in June, Christian Roberts bailed out of jail with a pending charge that he masturbated onto a woman in a Safeway, only the latest time he’s faced such an accusation.
According to Pleasanton police, the 30-year-old local resident recently re-offended, this time doing the same thing to a 13-year-old girl who lived in his apartment complex. Police say the two were playing a game of “hangman” that involved him writing words onto her back, when the girl noticed something was amiss and realized Roberts was sexually abusing her.
The alleged offense occurred on Oct. 22, according to the criminal complaint. Police say the girl’s mother called 911.
Roberts allegedly videotaped the crime, but deleted the video when police arrived, then fled the area. Police located him at a nearby gas station and arrested him there, noting that he was still wearing an ankle monitor as a condition of pretrial release in his public masturbation case, according to court records.
Now Roberts is behind bars, facing a felony charge of committing a lewd act on a child, court records show. He is also accused of violating the conditions of his release on $5,000 bail in the misdemeanor masturbation case.
In June, Roberts was charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly masturbating onto an employee who was stocking shelves in a Safeway in Oakland. In 2022, Roberts made headlines for accusations he’d engaged in similar lewd conduct in two other Bay Area stores, in Palo Alto and American Canyon.
Napa County court records say Roberts pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor sex offense and was sentenced to 101 days in jail and a one-year probation term. His actual time behind bars was reduced by half since it is considered a nonviolent offense, court records show.
His probation was still active when he allegedly committed the similar offense in Oakland, according to police. After posting $5,000 bail, he moved from Oakland to Pleasanton and befriended the alleged victim and her mother.
Roberts denied sexually abusing the girl in a police interview, but he admitted to selling videos “of similar acts” on the internet, police said in court filings. Roberts is scheduled to be arraigned on Nov. 4, and his bail has been set at $100,000.
