CYPRESS : Suspect Held in Rape Attempt on Girl, 7

A man was arrested after he allegedly tried to lure a 7-year-old girl from her front yard and attempted to rape her, authorities said Wednesday.

The girl, who was unharmed in the Tuesday night attack, told police she managed to free herself from Emilio Solares Paz, 22, shortly after he pulled her behind some bushes next to her house near the intersection of Myra Avenue and Rodeo Court.

She said Paz, who was riding a bicycle, stopped in front of her house about 9 p.m. and tried to talk her into going behind the bushes. When she refused, Paz grabbed her, dragged her behind the bushes, and tried to pull her clothes off, police said.

The girl said that when Paz attempted to pull her clothes off, she escaped and ran home to tell her parents, who then notified police.

“After a short search, we found him about a quarter-mile from the incident hiding behind a trailer,” Police Lt. Jim Weuve said. Weuve said the girl, who had been playing in her front yard before the incident, identified Paz as her attacker.

Paz was arrested on suspicion of kidnaping, child molestation and attempted rape, police said. He was being held at Orange County Jail on $50,000 bail.