CLEVELAND — A Westlake man who had previously been registered as a Tier 1 sex offender was arrested after a bystander became suspicious of his alleged interactions with a toddler at a public park and stepped in to help spark a police investigation.
According to the Westlake Police Department, Tao Huang, 61, was arrested on Tuesday following an April 13 incident at the Cleveland Metroparks Bradley Woods Reservation.
At approximately 10 a.m., a "concerned citizen" saw Huang allegedly acting "very 'friendly'" with an adult woman who had a toddler boy with her, Westlake police said. The caller said that he believed he recognized the man from the sex offender registry on the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's website.
Officers from the Westlake and Metroparks police departments responded to the park but could neither find the Huang nor the mother and toddler.
Police say the mother later called the police and reported being alerted to the suspect's possible sex offender status by the person who had made the original complaint. The mother had "thought about the interactions and realized that the male had been playing with her toddler and had identified himself as a 'teacher in body language,'" police allege. Metroparks police then wrote up a sex crime report.
A Westlake police dispatcher then looked into the suspect through old records and police databases. The dispatcher positively identified Huang and found that he had previously been registered as a Tier 1 sex offender and that his 15-year registration requirement had recently expired.
After passing the information to Metroparks detectives, police developed probable cause to arrest Huang on felony charges of gross sexual imposition.
Westlake officers served the warrant at the 61-year-old's residence on Tuesday. He was turned over to Metroparks police.
The Westlake dispatcher received a letter of commendation from Westlake Police Chief Kevin Bielozer on Friday for their work identifying the suspect.
"You demonstrated initiative and applied your skills and experience to the best of your ability. Recognizing the potential threat to the community presented by this suspicious person, you properly prioritized your discretionary time and uncovered critical intelligence," the commendation read in part. "Your instinct to act in defense of our most vulnerable population was the critical step in identifying the offender and facilitating his arrest.”