RIVERSIDE – The Riverside County Child Exploitation Team (RCCET), which is led by the DA’s Bureau of Investigation, worked in partnership with the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking (RCAHT) task force conducting a monthlong operation that resulted in the arrests of 25 suspected child predators.

 

Operation Intercept was a proactive undercover enforcement operation with the intent to locate possible sexual predators who actively look for minors on social media platforms for the purpose of committing lewd acts. The operation is meant to reduce the number of internet child predators throughout Riverside County.

 

By using covert social media and communication platforms, task force members communicate with potential child predators. The predator starts an online conversation with the undercover task force members and solicits a sexual conversation with someone the predator believes is a minor. During those conversations, the subject arranges a meeting with the intent to commit a lewd act with the minor. However, when they arrive at the predetermined meeting location to meet the person they believe to be a minor, they are instead met by task force members and arrested.

 

The following individuals were arrested during the monthlong operation:

 

Arrested on suspicion of soliciting a minor with the intent to engage in lewd sex acts:

 

Demitri Caballero, 25, of Indio

Jose Ortega, 38, of Indio

Evan Grill, 58, of Los Angeles

 

Arrested on suspicion of soliciting a minor, possession of child exploitation material and distributing child exploitation material:

 

Stuart Campbell, 46, of Pomona

 

Arrested on suspicion of soliciting a minor, arranging to meet with the intent to engage in lewd sex acts with a minor and possession of a firearm:

 

Ismael Rodriguez, 38, of Indio

Scott Miller, 39, of Murrieta

James Renfroe, 34, of Riverside

 

 

Arrested on suspicion of soliciting a minor, arranging to meet with the intent to engage in lewd sex acts with a minor and violation of parole:

 

Hilario Mendoza, 45, of Apple Valley

 

Arrested on suspicion of soliciting a minor and arranging to meet with the intent to engage in lewd sex acts with a minor:

 

Salvador Reveles, 34, of Compton

Kristopher Sandoval, 32, of Fontana

Ramon Gomez, 45, of Lake Elsinore

Richard Wooten, 41, of Indio

Ryan Vernola, 29 of Indio

Sean Aluoto, 43, of Irvine

Change Sawyer, 22, of Palm Desert

Apolonio Luciano, 40, of Palm Springs

Jesse Rojero, 35, of Perris

Jesus Nunez, 61, of Moreno Valley

Anthony Boyd, 30, of Riverside

James Logan, 30, of Riverside

Joshua Rivera, 32, of Rosemead

Johnathan Ross, 22, of Apple Valley

Veston Ash, 48, of Desert Hot Springs

Marino Lopez, 30, of Palm Desert

Ramiro Rodriguez, 35, of Thousand Palms

 

 

RCCET and RCAHT will continue to conduct proactive operations to locate and apprehend online predators to protect the community and children in the county of Riverside. RCAHT and RCCET reminds parents/legal guardians to monitor their children’s online activity, social media/gaming platforms and who they are communicating with in the different online platforms.  

Anyone with questions about this operation can contact Riverside County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jose Tijerina or Sgt. Robert Menchaca of the RCAHT task force at (951) 955-1700.

The Riverside County Child Exploitation Team works in partnership with the following agencies: Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the Beaumont, Murrieta, and Riverside police departments, 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.

 

The Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking task force is currently composed of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Riverside County Probation Department, along with part-time participation of the Hemet Police Department, Riverside Police Department, and Desert Hot Springs Police Department.

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