San Bernardino Deputies Finally Track Down Suspect in Sex-Against-Teen Case
ONTARIO – Detectives finally tracked down a man that fled upon discovering that authorities were investigating his relationship with a 16-year-old girl.
Deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Division assisted Chino Hills’ investigators in tracking down Cesar Garcia, 39, who began a relationship with a teenage girl when she was 15. He was arrested in Garden Grove on Monday after being at-large since August. Police also arrested his 19-year-old daughter, Britnie Garcia, for helping her father evade police.
The year-long relationship, say officials, started when he met the victim through his own teenage sister. Investigators said Garcia “used the ruse of babysitting his children in order to get her to his house on a repeated basis.” Part of the evidence, according to investigators, was his profile on several social media sites. He was reportedly in contact with the victim and several of her friends. Investigators also said Garcia used social media to request and receive child pornography.
Witnesses reported Garcia often parked near the victim’s house. After a year, she tried to end the relationship, but police said Garcia followed her and her friends, confronted the group and on one occasion ripped her phone from her hands. That August 22 confrontation led to the victim reporting the incident to law enforcement. When Garcia discovered he was being investigated, he abandoned his five children, some of them minors, in their Ontario apartment. Investigators said he continued stalking the victim through social media, “posting inappropriate, sexual content on her sites,” according to a police report, “and used her profiles to have communication with other teen girls.”
Police said some of the popular social media applications used by teens are administered by companies located outsides of the United States, thus do not cooperate with law enforcement requests on criminal investigations. “Despite an active warrant for his arrest,” according to a law enforcement release, “Garcia evaded law enforcement contact for three months while continuing to stalk and harass the victim.”
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies finally tracked Garcia to Garden Grove, where he was arrested on Monday.
Detectives are concerned that there may be additional victims, “considering the suspect’s methods and his presence on social media,” says investigators. Both Garcias were booked at West Valley Detention Center where he is being held on $1 million bail. He is being charged with sex crimes with a child, stalking and robbery.
Read More:
CBSLA: Ontario man arrested for relationship
Press Enterprise: Man accused of sex crimes
