Man held in lewd conduct case in Costa Mesa

A homeless man with a history of legal run-ins in Costa Mesa was arrested this week on suspicion of sexual battery and lewd conduct, police said.

About 9:15 a.m. Monday, officers responded to the 7-Eleven at 1673 Irvine Ave., where an 18-year-old woman reported that a man had harassed her and made unwanted physical advances, police said.

“He reached out and touched the female’s thigh and buttocks and right arm, assuring the female he was not going to hurt her,” Costa Mesa police Lt. Greg Scott said.

Scott said the suspect is Mark Marroquin, a 24-year-old transient who was arrested in May after a 14-year-old girl reported that he had groped her near Wallace Avenue and Shalimar Drive. After that incident, Marroquin pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of lewd conduct in a public place and received a sentence of three years’ probation.

In July, police said they arrested Marroquin on allegations of violating his probation, which barred him from the area near Shalimar Drive. In that case, detectives staked out Marroquin because of complaints about a man trying to grope women and children in and around a nearby park.

Marroquin has been convicted of several misdemeanors, including unlawful camping in a public area, resisting a peace officer and possession of a controlled substance, according to court records.

He was in jail Tuesday with bail set at $1,000, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Department records.