Sex offender caught peeping into Grover Beach homes

December 13, 2019

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

Surveillance cameras caught a sex offender peering into Grover Beach homes early Friday morning, and with the help of a witness, police promptly arrested the man.

Shortly before 7 a.m., a resident spotted a man prowling in his neighbor’s yard and called 911, according to the Grover Beach Police Department. The witness kept an eye on the suspect, enabling officers to quickly track down the man and arrest him.

Officers identified the suspect as 43-year-old San Luis Obispo resident Richard Eugene Parson. Surveillance cameras captured Parson prowling around two homes on the south side of Grover Beach.

Investigators have compiled video footage from several homes, which shows Parson prowling and looking into residences through windows. Parson was prowling around the neighborhoods of Rose Court, La Selva Avenue and Refugio Court, as early as 2:50 a.m., police say.

Authorities booked Parson into the SLO County Jail on two counts of prowling and one charge of providing false identity to an officer. The county sheriff’s office website does not currently list Parson as being in custody.

In 2002, Parson was convicted of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, according to the Megan’s Law database. He was released from custody later that year.

Parson’s last known address is on Los Osos Valley Road.

Grover Beach police are asking residents to check surveillance footage from Thursday night to see if Parson was prowling around their homes. Anyone who has footage of Parson prowling is asked to call the dispatch center at (805) 473-4511.