Juvenile Victim Snaps Photo of Suspect’s Vehicle, Leading to Arrest
NOVATO – According to a press release yesterday from the Novato Police Department, one of the victims of a child molester spotted the perpetrator’s vehicle in downtown Novato and snapped a picture of it with his cell phone. Although the picture was of limited quality, the photo provided enough information for officers to utilize their Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) database to assist in identifying a suspect vehicle.
Jonathan Matthew Sobol
The ALPR search, aided with previously reported descriptions, resulted in identifying a suspect vehicle and a potential suspect. Jonathan Sobol, a 27-year-old Novato resident, was interviewed by detectives and then subsequently arrested and booked into Marin County Jail. Sobol faces charges of indecent exposure and annoying or molesting a child under 18.
A number of earlier incidents had prompted the Novato PD to request assistance from the public in finding the suspect.
On August 26, Novato PD received a report of a suspicious subject who had approached an adult male at the Square Shopping Center. The subject offered to “massage” the man. He then offered money to him as compensation for agreeing to the massage. On August 30, Novato PD received a report of a subject with similar appearance and vehicle approaching a juvenile at Harvest Marketplace. The same offer was proposed to the juvenile.
On September 2, the Novato PD the requested public assistance in these unusual incidents, and as a result, they received three additional previously unreported incidents, and an additional case. Each incident involved the subject offering to pay to massage a juvenile. In one case, the subject allegedly exposed himself while speaking with a juvenile. Those incidents spanned from September 2013 through August 2014. Sobol is now a suspect in all of these incidents.
Read More:
Main Independent Journal: Novato man, 27, accuse of offering youths money to give them massages
