Garland PD

Nathaniel G. Sandles

GARLAND — DART transit police have arrested a man who was wanted for sexually assaulting a juvenile at a Garland city park.

Investigators say they believe Nathaniel G. Sandles, 38—who is a registered sex offender—committed the crime at Audubon Park on Tuesday.

A DART police officer spotted Sandles at the Illinois light rail station at Illinois Ave. and Corinth Drive in Oak Cliff at 12:30 p.m. Friday. He was taken into custody without incident.

Sandles was said to frequent Audubon Park and police said he may live around the South Garland greenbelt area.

The suspect is a lifetime registered sex offender from California. Police said he reportedly registered in Madisonville, Texas, northwest of Huntsville, as a sex offender last fall.

"We don't know when he came to the Dallas area," said Garland police spokesman Officer Joe Harn. "We do know that he committed this sexual assault on Tuesday. It was at gunpoint, and we consider him very, very dangerous."

Investigators said Sandles' past victims are both male and female.

Sandles was being held at the Garland Jail on aggravated sexual assault charges. Bond was set at $50,000.

E-mail jstjames@wfaa.com