Bearded Man Hides in Museum Woman’s Restroom to Attack Teen Girl

A 24-year-old man hid a women’s bathroom stall at Boston’s Museum of Science last week and attacked a 15-year-old girl.

Yandri Hernandez was arrested on Wednesday and charged with kidnapping of a child, strangulation or suffociation, and assault and battery, according to the Fall River Reporter. He was ordered held without bail at a dangerousness hearing on Friday.

Video footage showed the bearded man, wearing all black with black and white sneakers, enter the museum just before 11 a.m. on Sunday and sitting in a lobby near the bathroom for about an hour before going in the facility. The victim, who was at the museum with a friend, entered the bathroom at about 12:45 p.m. while her friend waited outside.

The girl said that when she came out of the stall and went to wash her hands, she felt a hand come around her face and cover her mouth. She said she initially thought it was her friend, but quickly realized it was a man. The man tried to restrain her, and she screamed and ran out of the restroom.

Hernandez walked out behind her and fled the museum.

A witness told police that she entered the bathroom, apparently just after the victim, and noticed two stalls occupied. She entered her stall, and saw a pair a black and white sneakers that she said were “abnormal in size for a female.” Then she heard the girl leave her stall, followed by the person with the black and white shoes.

She reported hearing muffled screaming and some scuffling. Both parties were gone when she exited her stall.

Police sent images from the museum’s video of the suspect, and Cambridge Police identified him on Monday as Hernandez because of a distinctive tattoo on his left forearm. He was spotted the following day in Somerville and arrested by Massachusetts State Police.

“This is a terrifying incident for anyone, particularly for a teenager simply enjoying an outing with a friend at a popular destination. This young woman’s description of her attacker, along with top-notch identification work based on the images disseminated by investigators, led to the defendant being spotted and arrested just days after the incident,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.

Somerville Police said Hernandez had been arrested in that town late last month on several charges, including breaking and entering.

Hernandez is due back in court in Boston on November 8. WBZ reported.

The museum issued a statement saying it was “grateful for the efforts of our own internal public safety team, combined with law enforcement officials, who were able to quickly identify the involved individual.”

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[Featured image: Yandi Hernandez/Commonwealth Fusion Center, from museum security footage, and Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office]