An El Cajon pregnant woman was met with a "gross" sight as she woke up to find a strange man exposing himself in her bedroom, she told NBC 7.
The 30-year-old woman, who did not want to be identified, said after her baby shower Saturday, she fell into an exhausted sleep beside her husband and 2-year-old daughter in their home on Tamarisk Way.
But early Sunday morning, she was startled awake. "When I got up, it's because I felt something on my arm, on my right arm. I felt something wet," the victim described.
She saw an intruder standing above her, exposing himself. When the suspect realized she was awake, he ran out of the house.
"And that moment, I couldn't speak," the woman said. "I couldn't do anything." When she could move, she told NBC 7 she ran to the door and closed it behind the man, afraid he would return and kill them.
Though officers soon searched the neighborhood, they were not able to find the man. Police say he left bodily fluid and a blue latex glove behind.
"It's gross. The whole thing is just gross," she said.
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As they launched their investigation, police discovered there had been recent reports of a possible prowler in the same area, wearing clothes similar to what the victim described: a blue sweatshirt, jeans and a white baseball cap.
Detectives say they dug up surveillance video that shows a man, matching the suspect’s description, trying to break into a home about a block away, just hours before he got into the Tamarisk home. According to officers, the video also gave them a vehicle associated with the suspect.
Meanwhile, the victimized family was left to deal with the disturbing intrusion.
"The damage he did to us mentally is something that we don't deserve," said the woman.
Investigators linked this case to another on June 16, 2015. A 17-year-old girl had called 911 to say a man was following her and hiding when she looked back at him. That day, officers contacted Von Ryan Manago, 32, but they determined no crime had been committed.
With that information in mind, detectives determined Manago was a suspect in the indecent exposure case. They arrested him Monday as he was sleeping in his car in the 6400 block of High Knoll Road.
Police say when they took him into custody, Manago had a box of rubber gloves – similar to the one found in the 30-year-old woman’s room, and his black Toyota Camry matched the one seen in the surveillance video.
Manago was booked into county jail on suspicion of burglary and indecent exposure after entry into an occupied dwelling. Detectives say there is a chance more criminal charges will be filed against him as they continue their investigation.
News that the suspect was captured gave the El Cajon couple their first good night of sleep all week.
"We're not going to give him any more power that he's already stolen," they said. "It's not his. This is our home. He's not going to win this."
The mother and father have since activated an alarm system on their doors and windows, as well as installed cameras around their home's exterior. They said they do not want anyone else to become a victim of a similar incident.
"It's hot. A lot of people are sleeping with windows open and things and you got to stop that," the husband said.
It's unclear if Manago has obtained an attorney. His arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.
If you know anything about the cases, call the El Cajon Police Department at 619-579-3311.
