Father arrested for allegedly ‘molesting four-year-old daughter’ after waitress films incident

The footage purportedly shows the man groping the girl under a table as she sits on his lap

Screenshot of a video purporting to show the girl's father being arrested by Tabasco police (YouTube)

An alleged paedophile has been arrested in Mexico after footage of him purportedly molesting a four-year-old girl circulated online.

The footage, filmed by a waitress, allegedly shows the man groping the girl under the table as she sits on his lap in a restaurant in Villahermosa, Tabasco.

The footage ignited a national manhunt after the waitress shared it online. In the aftermath of its release many names purporting to be that of the man circulated the internet and even the online activist network Anonymous participated in the search, according to the Mail Online.

Police have announced they have now arrested the alleged perpetrator, who is understood to be the girl’s father.

Juan Vicente Hernandez Leon, 48, was captured by police before boarding a bus to Mexico City.

Earlier this week Tabasco police tweeted: “Juan Vicente Hernandez Leon, the alleged paedophile relating to the case of a video in a restaurant in which he was seen with his hand under the clothes of a minor, was arrested on the afternoon of April 11, when he was travelling by bus.”

Video footage appearing to show Hernandez Leon being arrested has been uploaded online.

In a press conference, prosecutor Fernando Valenzuela Pernas said the four-year-old has been taken into care after undergoing medical checks.

Since Hernandez Leon's arrest, another video of a woman claiming to be his wife has been circulated by the Mexican press.

The woman, Silva Algomeda, shared the video on Facebook, in which she defends Hernandez Leon and says the girl has suffered psychological damage as a result of being separated from her family.