Vendor accused of asking 12-year-old girl to expose chest for free ice cream

SEATAC -- It is one of the joys of being a kid -- the ice cream truck.

Now an ice cream vendor is in trouble with the law over what he allegedly asked a minor to do.

The accused is Harpreet Singh Tiwana, 42. The alleged victim is a 12-year-old girl, who says the vendor wanted her to show him her chest for free ice cream.

SeaTac's Angle Lake Park

On nice days, families are drawn to Angle Lake Park.

Lyuda Redka, a park visitor, said Tuesday it's also a place where her son would get excited to hear the familiar call of the ice cream man.

“He looked like a nice guy, every time we came here he was here,” said Redka, adding that the vendor seemed harmless.

But Tiwana is now accused of soliciting a strip show from a minor on Sept. 8.

“It was shocking for me I didn’t expect anything like that,” Redka said.

The victim told detectives she and a 15-year-old girl noticed the vendor staring at them as they were going in and out of the park bathroom.  She said the vendor told them they looked “sexy,” offered the girls free ice cream and then asked the 12-year-old to expose her chest.

“Who does that? Who says that stuff? That it is out of control,” said Seatac resident Muhammed Young.

The ice cream vendor told detectives it was the girl's idea to expose herself after she asked for ice cream and refused to pay for it. Tiwana told police he rejected the girl's offer.

At his home, Tiwana’s wife said Tuesday that he wasn't there, but that her husband is innocent.

Tiwana was licensed to sell ice cream at the various parks in SeaTac. The city said his license has since been suspended.

Tiwana is charged with one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

In Tiwana’s case, it's only a gross misdemeanor because he does not have a criminal history. If he is convicted, he can serve up to a year in prison and would have to register as a sex offender.