Ventura – If history teaches us anything, the future faced by Heriberto Rivas-Avila, a 24-year-old Oxnard resident, should he be convicted of and serve jail time for the crime for which he was arrested on June 30th, will in all likelihood be stressful, as child molesters do not generally garner the respect of fellow inmates.
According to the report given to the media by Ventura Police Detective Sgt. Cain, an investigation leading to the identification of Rivas-Avila began on June 20th, when a male 15-year-old walked into the Ventura Police Department to report that “he had been a victim of a sexual assault and the suspect was still trying to persuade him to meet again.” The adolescent indicated that he had been utilized a smartphone “app” by means of communicating with an adult male with whom he was not personally acquainted.
Pursuant to that first anonymous contact, the victim met with the unknown adult male in the city of Ventura, at which time he reportedly was sexually assaulted while a passenger in the assailant’s car. According to Cain, “the suspect recontacted the victim in June 2015 via the same social networking application,” and made efforts to arrange a second meeting with the victim for purposes of sexual contact. At that point, the 15-year-old reported the incidents to his parents and to the police.
Rivas-Avila was identified and contacted on June 30th, whereupon he was arrested and transported to Ventura County Jail where he was booked on charges of luring a minor for the purpose of lewd conduct, extortion, and sexual assault of a minor.
Photo: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
