Sex Offender Suspected of Molesting Boys

A registered sex offender accused of luring boys to motel rooms in El Sereno, where he allegedly molested them and photographed them nude, has been arrested, Los Angeles police said Wednesday.

Alexander Trestrail, 27, of El Sereno, was arrested March 23 after the mother of a 14-year-old runaway he allegedly befriended tracked him down at a Super 8 Motel and called police. The teenager did not report any abuse by Trestrail, authorities said.

But while Trestrail was in police custody, authorities received a complaint from a 12-year-old boy, who said Trestrail had engaged in sexual acts with him in previous weeks, said Det. Ernest Munoz of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollenbeck Division.

The 12-year-old and his father were unaware that Trestrail was in custody. “It just happened that he told his dad” around the time of the arrest, Munoz said.

Based on those allegations, prosecutors last week filed charges against Trestrail, including one count of committing a lewd act on a child and two counts each of using a minor for a sex act and child molesting with a prior offense.

Munoz said two 11-year-olds also have accused Trestrail of molesting them, but those allegations have not yet been presented to the district attorney’s office.

Investigators said Trestrail is believed to have given boys marijuana and money in exchange for permission to photograph them.

Trestrail, who is unemployed and lives with his grandparents, grew up in El Sereno, police said. He was convicted in 1997 of a misdemeanor charge of annoying or molesting children.

Detectives said Trestrail frequented such areas as libraries, swimming pools, parks and schools. They asked others who may have encountered Trestrail to call police at (323) 526-3165.