School District Employee Arrested for Inappropriate Contact with Minor
Stock image (Source unknown)
SALINAS — Police are seeking additional information relevant to their investigation into 32-year-old Jesus Ortega of Prunedale, who is suspected of having had inappropriate contact with a 13-year-old girl.
On July 6th, the girl’s mother contacted police regarding inappropriate emails she’d found on her daughter’s account.
The conversations, which began in May of this year, turned out to have been with an employee of the Santa Rita School’s IT department. The case was passed along to the Investigations Bureau, at which point the assigned detective took over the email account — with the family’s permission — and began corresponding with Ortega in the girl’s place.
Over the next few days, the conversations grew sexual in nature, with Ortega eventually sending an explicit sexual picture.
On July 20, Ortega arranged a meeting with the girl (detective), intent on pursing a sexual encounter.
Detectives intercepted him on his way to meet the girl and he was promptly arrested.
A search warrant was then served at his home in Prunedale, where several electronic devices were seized. Salinas PD notes that the Santa Rita School District has been fully cooperative with the investigation, including assisting detectives with access to Ortega’s work-related devices.
He has since been booked into the Monterey County Jail on the following charges: annoying/molesting a child, distributing obscene material, sending harmful matter to seduce a minor, communication with a minor to commit offense, abnormal sexual interest in children, and others.
The Investigations Bureau is seeking the public’s help in the event that there are other victims who may have had contact with Ortega.
Those with information that may help the investigation are encouraged to contact Detective Jared Sivertson at (831) 758 – 7132. Additional contact information can be found in the official press release.
