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Mom beats suspect
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It will be a long time before a west Ceres family feels safe and secure after a 13-year-old family member was sexually groped near her home March 16.

Things got more intense after the girl's mother and brother teamed up in an all-out physical struggle to hold Juan Carlos Gutierrez Alcaraz, 30, until police arrived.

"I always said I would kill anyone who touched my daughter like that," said Tammy Reddin.

Alcaraz, identified as an illegal alien who lived on Blaker Road, plead guilty Monday tp two felony charges in Stanislaus County Superior Court: possession of a controlled substance and annoying / molesting a child. He faces a short prison term and deporting back to his native Mexico.

The incident unfolded sometime after midnight when the victim and her 14-year-old cousin broke the 11 p.m. curfew to walk a best friend down San Pedro Avenue to the other side of Morgan Road. Alcaraz came out of nowhere and offered to buy the cousins beer and cigarettes at the nearby Quik Stop. He showed the girls that he had money. At one point he suggested that the girls go home with him. They told him "no" and for Alcaraz to leave them alone. One of the victims got a hold of a friend on a cell phone while the other tried to make a 911 call but it didn't go through. The suspect continued to follow the girls.

Alcaraz allegedly grabbed Reddin's daughter by the waist, bruising her and then began rubbing the front of her, including her breasts. By then the girl was able to get her mom on the phone. As the girls came back to the house, Tammy Reddin and her 19-year-old son were waiting.

Both sprung into action. Tammy Reddin, who was clad in pajamas and slippers, began running after the suspect. They caught up to him at Quik Stop at the corner of Service and Morgan. The Reddins tried to corral the suspect inside the store, fearful he would slip away into the darkness of a nearby vacant field.

At 1:31 a.m., Tammy's roomie, Rosalie Smith, called police dispatchers. For the next seven minutes until the first officer arrived, the victim's family and suspect struggled.

"It went on for a while, me fighting the guy, at the store," said Reddin. "I hit him in the knees with a baseball bat. I was trying to drop him. He was 6-2, I'd say and between 170 and 180 pounds and he wasn't dropping because he was under the influence. He struck me in the face."

Clerks told the suspect to get out of the store.

"That's where he started swinging on me - in front of the store," said Reddin. "I was fighting him again. I have martial-arts experience."

The team was able to finally pin Alcarez to a wall outside the store. The first officer arrived at 1:38 a.m.

"My son and his friend had to hold him up against the building because he was fighting and trying to get away," said Tammy. "My son thought he had broke his hand on the guy because his hand was all swollen."

Police said that Alcaraz appeared to be under the influence of methamphetamine. Officers threatened to break Alcaraz's fingers if he didn't stop fighting them, said Reddin.

She plans to be in the courtroom to see Alcaraz to justice.

"I'm outraged ... that night I would have killed him if my son didn't get him. I always said if somebody ever touched my daughter like that I would kill them. She's going something insane. She's having nightmares, waking up in the middle of the night. She doesn't want to go outside. She's just reliving this over in her head.

"My daughter is having to see a psychiatrist. She's on depression medication. She's missed days of school.

An officer who responded to the call warned the girl about breaking the curfew, said Reddin.

"The cop told us he had a 14-year-old daughter and he tries to tell her you can't get out and walk the streets like we do."

Deputy Chief Mike Borges said the suspect was found in possession of methamphetamine.