Tustin, Santa Ana Police Accuse 41-Year-Old Man Of Multiple Counts Of Sex Assaults Against Children He Met At Church
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — The Santa Ana Police Department in a joint investigation with Tustin police said they have arrested a 41-year-old man on multiple counts of sexual assault involving children.
Jose Aguilera of Santa Ana was arrested Friday.
Authorities said he victimized children from at least four families he met in his house of worship.
Aguilera met and befriended the four families at the Kingdom Hall Jehovah's Witness church in Santa Ana.
Detectives said Aguilera created situations where he was allowed to visit the victims' homes or transport victims in his car. The alleged assaults occurred when Aguilera was alone with the minors.
The first alleged sexual assault occurred in the spring of 2014 at Aguilera's residence in Tustin. He later victimized another child at the same Tustin home, before he moved to Santa Ana, police said. Two additional children were victimized in Santa Ana with the most recent sexual assault occurring in July of this year, they said.
Detectives said the victims range from 9 to 12.
Because of the way Aguilera gained access to the victims, detectives believe there are possibly more victims who are yet to come forward.
The Santa Ana Police Department is requesting the public to call detectives at (714) 245-8660 if they suspect Aguilera had inappropriate contact or access to children.
Aguilera was booked into the Santa Ana Jail on multiple child sexual abuse counts.