Tag Archives: child molestation

Ontario: Man Arrested For Minor Sex Crimes

Staff Reports

 

Cesar Garcia

Suspect Cesar Garcia, 39 (Photo Courtesy: Chino Hills Police)

Chino Hills – Deputies from the Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Division assisted Chino Hills’ Detectives in the arrest of a 39-year old man who had a year-long sexual relationship with a teen girl, and continued to stalk her through social media after the termination of the relationship.

According to the Chino Hills Police Department, Cesar Garcia, 39, of Ontario, began a relationship with a 15-year old girl he met through his teenage sister.  Garcia used the deception of inviting the girl to babysit his children in order to get her into his house on a repeated basis.

Garcia reportedly had profiles on multiple social media sites, and was in contact with the victim and several of her friends.  He is also said to have used social media to request and receive child pornography.  Witnesses have seen Garcia parked near the victim’s home on several occasions.

A year into the relationship, the victim attempted to end the relationship, but Garcia would not allow it.  On Aug. 22, Garcia followed the victim and her friends, confronted the group and ripped her phone from her hands.  The confrontation prompted the victim to notify law enforcement.

When Garcia learned law enforcement was involved, he reportedly abandoned his five minor children and fled from his Ontario apartment.

Garcia continued to stalk the victim, including the hacking of her social media sites. He posted inappropriate, sexual content on her sites and used her profiles to have communication with other teen girls (the Chino Hills Police Department notes that some popular social applications used by teens are administered by companies outside of the U.S. that do not comply with law enforcement requests for criminal content).  Despite an active warrant for his arrest, Garcia evaded law enforcement for three months, all the while continuing to stalk and harass the victim.

On Mon., Dec. 15, Garcia was arrested in Garden Grove by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Special Enforcement Division.  Garcia’s daughter, Britnie Garcia, 19, was also arrested for playing an active role in helping her father evade apprehension.  Both were booked at the West Valley Detention Center.  Cesar Garcia is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Police Detectives are concerned there may be additional victims in this case considering the suspect’s methods and his presence on social media.  Anyone who might be a victim or has knowledge regarding this situation is encouraged to contact Detective Harper at the Chino Hills Police Station, at (909) 364-2000.  Confidentiality will be maintained throughout the process.

Orange County: Man Arrested For Child Molestation

Staff Reports

Edwin Echeverria (Photo Courtesy: Santa Ana Police Dept)

Edwin Echeverria (Photo Courtesy: Santa Ana Police Dept)

Santa Ana – On Dec. 3 at approximately 12:35 a.m., Santa Ana Family Crimes Detectives arrested Edwin Echeverria, 22, or Santa Ana, for multiple counts of Child Molestation.  Echeverria was taking into custody on the 3500 block of South Harbor Blvd. in Costa Mesa as he was leaving his place of employment.

At this time, eight male victims have been identified.  Through interviews with these victims, Detectives have obtained knowledge about three additional children who may have been victimized.  Detectives are working to locate these children.

According to the Santa Ana Police Department, Detectives estimate that the suspect began victimizing the boys in the summer of 2012. Echeverria initially befriended the victims by selling them chips, soda and other items from his Warwick Square Apartment, located in the 700 block of South Lyon Street, in Santa Ana. Over time, Echeverria took advantage of the rapport and trust he had established to convince the children to engage in sexual acts with him.

The molestations occurred when the victims were as young as 10 years of age. The first incident is believed to have occurred in August 2012. The most recent known incident occurred approximately two weeks ago.

Police were alerted to the crimes after the parents of one of the victims discovered evidence their minor son might be involved in an inappropriate relationship with an unknown person. Interviews of the child and subsequent investigation led to the identification of the suspect and the additional victims.

The number of victims involved is this case is extraordinary. Detectives are not aware of any other Santa Ana cases involving a single suspect targeting such a large number of victims within memory.

Sexual abuse victims are commonly reluctant to disclose abuse for fear of retaliation from the suspect or because of personal embarrassment. Because Echeverria had access to children, there may be additional victims. The Santa Ana Police Department is asking parents of children who may have had contact with Echeverria to discuss those interactions. If there is any sign of inappropriate contact with Echeverria, call Santa Ana Police Department Family Crimes Detectives at (714) 245-8542 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.

 

Pomona: Ice Skating Coach Gets 98 Years For Molestation

STAFF REPORTS

donald-vincent

Donald James Vincent (Photo Courtesy: LA Weekly.com)

Pomona – Donald James Vincent, former ice skating coach, and convicted child molester, received a sentence of 98.8 years to life in prison at Pomona’s Superior Court on Thurs., Nov. 6.

Vincent, 31, was found guilty by a jury – who deliberated for less than a day – back on Jan. 28 on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, two counts of lewd acts upon a child, two counts of forcible lewd acts on a child, and five charges relating to sex acts with a child under the age of 10.

Vincent had worked as a coach at various ice rinks throughout Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange counties since 2006. He was arrested in Jan. 2013 on charges relating to students at the Paramount Iceland rink on molestations that occurred between 2007 and 2011 at Vincent’s home in Hacienda Heights (and another residence in Downey).

It is reported that the male child involved – who was between 12 and 15 years old at the time – kept the abuse hidden until he told a friend two years later. The boy was encouraged to come forward to authorities which resulted in Vincent’s arrest. Officials encouraged others to come forward as well, which resulted in additional charges against the accused with a female student less than 10 years of age.

The District Attorney’s Office has reportedly stated that Vincent was also ordered by the Court to pay more than $3.5 million in restitution, as well as register as a sex offender.

Vincent has been held without bail since his arrest.

EASTVALE: Protecting your Children From Cyber Predators

BY: JENNIFER MADRIGAL and LEAFF Member Det. Syvock

LEAFF Law Enforcement and Fire Protection

L.E.A.F.F. Eastvale

With the rise of internet and app use among a younger and younger generation, the cases of child molestation cases has also continued to rise. Sadly, the age of children being victimized continues to get younger and younger as pedophiles continue to get braver and bolder in their pursuits. Many parents think that they are monitoring their children well enough to avoid any of these incidences from happening to “their child”, but the sad reality is that even the most vigilant parents can miss the signs.

First and foremost, there are some key words that define the “lingo” of the child pornography world: Collectors– Collect images of child pornography.  Collectors can and will transition to chatters.  Chatters– Chatters will surf the social media and gaming sites (Xbox, Play station, etc…) known to be used by children.  These chatters are looking for children to communicate with and the topics will transition to discussions involving sexual contact.  Chatters can and will become Travelers. Travelers– Adults that will meet with children for the purpose of engaging in sexual activities.  Travelers could be from the town/city next door or may travel across country to meet children.  Travelers can and will become manufacturers of child pornography as they will document their meetings in videos and photographs. Manufacturers– Manufacturers will produce images and videos depicting children being exploited (Child Pornography) to share with other likeminded individuals via the internet or through mailings.

According to Detective David Sycock, who is part of the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force, once contact between the predator and the child has been established, the grooming process begins. These predators are able to spend more time with our children daily, through the internet, than a predator who has face to face access. They will often shower the victim with attention. This gives the child a sense that the predator cares about them because they are so patient and they listen so intently. The relationship will then progress to a relationship with an “us/them” mentality as it relates to parents or authority, which helps establish the groundwork for abuse. The predator will encourage the child to share secrets and try and earn their trust. The predator needs to make sure that the child will feel “safe” with them to ensure that the relationship and the eventual face to face meeting will remain a secret. Unfortunately, this is where sexual topics are gradually introduced in an effort to gauge the child’s reaction and willingness to move forward towards the face to face meeting. The predator will at this point encourage the child to share images with them. Images will usually be innocuous at first, but will transition into more graphic images involving sexual images. Some predators will even send the victim a camera or other gifts to take pictures with. The ultimate goal of the predator is always a face to face encounter, “Meeting In Real Life” (MIRL), where the physical sexual abuse will begin.

Once the abuse occurs, how do we as parents discover our child has been victimized? Usually, parents stumble onto graphic text messages, pictures, videos, etc. between the child and the predator. The child will often be uncooperative as the predator has spent so much time grooming them to believe that the predator is the good person and the parents are the bad people. Again, the “Us vs. Them” mentality is continued and encouraged by the predator, as they often have already coached them on how to respond. The difficulties with parenting the child will continue to get worse as the child will withdrawal further as they are confronted by parents. Parents may notice the child becoming more of a “loner” by separating themselves from family and social events, and problems in school will often increase as grades and attendance decrease.

So what can we do to make sure our children don’t become victims? First, be involved and vigilant. Know your way around the computer, smart phones, video games, etc. Do not give your children devices that you yourself do not know how to operate. Second, set house rules and stay firm. Have times and perimeters for internet use. Monitor their time and what sites they are on, and set boundaries on where children are allowed to use their internet devices. As a parent, you own the device and thus should be actively monitoring and checking your children’s devices for inappropriate content.

If you have any questions or think your child may be a victim please call your local law enforcement agency.