From Cathy Locke:
A Sunnyvale man was arrested Sunday after a South Lake Tahoe-area campground host observed him contacting underage female campers.
An El Dorado County Sheriff's Office investigation led to the arrest of Kraig Smith (left photo), 54, who was later identified as a registered sex offender, according to a Sheriff's Office news release.
After watching Smith, deputies carried out a sting operation with the cooperation a member of the public. Smith was arrested after he entered a women's restroom and peered through a crack in a shower stall door, the news release says.
He was booked into the South Lake Tahoe Jail on suspicion of disorderly conduct under a section of the Penal Code that refers to loitering around a public toilet for the purpose of "engaging in or soliciting any lewd or lascivious or any unlawful act."
El Dorado Superior Court Judge Suzanne Kingsbury set bail at $100,000, pending review of the investigation by the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office.
The sheriff's investigation indicated Smith may have visited other public campgrounds and day activity spots in the South Lake Tahoe area.
At the time of his arrest, Smith had a white Toyota Tundra pickup truck with a camper shell. He also had a Chihuahua dog that he used to engage underage girls in conversation, according to the news release.
The Sheriff's Office asks anyone in the community who may have witnessed or experienced similar situations involving Smith to call the Secret Witness line at (530) 544-6767 or Detective Matt Harwood at (530) 573-3015.
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