A North County family finally feels a sense of closure after the man accused of assaulting their young daughters was taken into custody, the father said in an exclusive interview Wednesday.
“We feel safe, and we feel safe because this guy is off the street, but we also feel safe because the police department, the sheriff’s department pursued this to the end,” said the father, who only wanted to be identified as Will.
Gilbert Chavarria, 27 – dubbed “the Creeper” by authorities – was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting minors in seven cases. Officials say in June and July of 2013, Chavarria broke into Escondido and San Marcos homes to assault the children, cutting pieces of their pajamas to take with him as he escaped.
One of the alleged victims was Will’s daughter, then 9 years old. On July 19, sheriff’s investigators say Chavarria came through the family’s first-floor window and into the bedroom where Will's two daughters were sleeping.
He is accused of assaulting the older girl and then trying to touch the 5-year-old child. The younger girl screamed and kicked the suspect. The man escaped the way he came, but not without so-called trophies – the pieces of the girls’ pajamas, which investigators say are typical of serial sexual predators.
Since that night, Will and his wife have been trying to help the girls cope with the trauma.
“This has been an ongoing discussion. It comes up once a month, sometimes once a week, it just depends, since it happened,” Will said.
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As the crime and others just like it were investigated, DNA evidence from two of the crime scenes was ran through the state database. However, investigators did not come up with any matches at that point, according to San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore.
Nearly two years later, they tried again. This time, they sent the evidence to the California Department of Justice to see if there was a familial match, looking for relative's DNA in the system. The result led police to Chavarria.
On Wednesday, Gore called this arrest a significant one, and Escondido Police Chief Craig Carter said, “This predator has changed their lives forever.”
Will looks at his daughter who fought the suspect as a hero who helped lead police to their man. The parents have not told their daughters about the arrest just yet.
“When we tell them, we want them to know, they were a part of this process of getting him off the streets. They’re part of this resolution,” Will said.
But the incident has not taught the family to be fearful, Will told NBC 7. Instead, they have secured their house so that if another intruder tries to enter, they’ll be ready.
