26 Arrested In RivCo Child Exploitation Team Month-Long Warrant Search
Alleged crimes range from child sexual abuse material, attempting lewd acts with a child, and various parole violations.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA â In April, 26 people â many of them registered sex offenders â were arrested in Riverside County for crimes ranging from possession of child sexual abuse material, attempting lewd acts with a child, and various parole violations, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office reported.
Over that month, the Riverside County District multiagency County Child Exploitation Team served search warrants at multiple locations in the cities of Beaumont, Corona, Indio, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, and Murrieta, looking for possession of child sexual abuse material.
In six cases, six people were arrested, including one person who was a currently registered sex offender, Riverside County District Attorney spokesperson John Hall said.
A Murrieta resident was found possessing child sexual abuse material and was arrested, Hall told Patch, as was another resident of Lake Elsinore.
The District Attorney's office has not yet disclosed their names. Patch will add their identities when they are released.
During April, the team also checked on 52 registered sex offenders in Hemet to ensure all offenders complied with their registry terms.
"Those checks resulted in five arrests for violations of parole terms and 13 arrests for failure to register as sex offenders," Hall said.
The task force went undercover in an online investigation to catch another offender. One registered sex offender traveled to Riverside for what he thought would be a sexual encounter with a child, Hall said.
"That man was arrested and later determined to be a currently registered sex offender in San Diego County," Hall said in the report. Investigators also learned the man possessed child sexual abuse material upon his arrest.
The task force regularly conducts investigations into those who participate in the online exploitation of children. For more information go to www.rivcosafe.org.
The task force works with the following agencies including Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the Beaumont, Blythe, Desert Hot Springs, Menifee, Murrieta, and Riverside police departments, the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, FBI, the Inland Regional Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking task force, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Marshals Service all lend mutual aid.
https://patch.com/california/temecula/26-arrested-rivco-child-exploitation-team-month-long-warrant-search