Tahoe man suspected of harassing boys

A 27-year-old South Lake Tahoe man was jailed Thursday on $25,000 cash bail after two young boys said he repeatedly asked them to leave the Lakeside Inn with him.

Nery Mejia-Miranda was booked for two counts of unlawful contact with children, a gross misdemeanor.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone who may have had contact with him or been advised by their children of similar incidents to call Lake Tahoe Investigations Division at 586-7250.

Deputies were called to the Stateline casino at 8 p.m. Thursday for a report of a suspicious man harassing two brothers, ages 8 and 11. The boys were waiting for their father who was using the rest room.

The children told deputies they refused to leave with Mejia-Miranda, but he continued to pester them.

Two witnesses saw Mejia-Miranda speaking with the children who appeared to be frightened and were crying.

The witnesses approached Mejia-Miranda and the boys, and asked what was occurring. Mejia-Miranda said he knew the boys, but the children denied it. The witnesses took custody of the two boys and contacted casino security officers.

When questioned by deputies through an interpreter, Mejia-Miranda denied the allegations, but gave three different accounts of the incident.

Mejia-Miranda said he was an illegal immigrant from El Salvador. Jail officials contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.



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The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone who may have had contact with suspect Nery Mejia-Miranda or have been advised by their children of similar incidents to call Lake Tahoe Investigations Division at 586-7250.