Monterey County Man Arrested on Suspicion of Child Sexual Abuse, Possession of CSAM
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of a suspect for the alleged possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), as well as alleged child sexual abuse.
In a press release on February 17th, the Sheriff’s Office identified 19-year-old Olidio Antonio Cruz-Pineda as the subject of what began as an investigation into the alleged sharing of CSAM via the social media app Snapchat. The investigation was opened in August of 2022 after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted authorities that an individual in California had uploaded the illicit material to the app.
Investigators were able to trace the suspect’s internet connection to a residence on Cielo Azul in Castroville, the Sheriff’s Office said.
On January 27 of this year, investigators served a search warrant at the residence, where they arrested Cruz-Pineda without incident. Investigators reportedly also obtained evidence that Cruz-Pineda had sexually assaulted minor children who resided in Seaside, Monterey, and Sand City between 2017 and 2020.
Cruz-Pineda was arrested and booked at the Monterey County jail on suspicion of possession of child pornography and lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, with bail set at $200,000.
Investigators are strongly encouraging anyone with information relevant to the case to contact Detective Christian Zarate at 831-755-3809, or Detective Sergeant David Vargas at 831-755-3771.
