Woodland man arrested for alleged sexual assault of teen girls contacted on Snapchat

A 22-year-old Woodland resident was arrested last week after he allegedly used social media to target and befriend two teenage girls who he later sexually assaulted, authorities said.

The Yolo County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post on Monday that deputies were assisting with a wildfire in Dunnigan on June 29 when they received a report that a girl under the age of 15 had been sexually assaulted by an adult twelve hours earlier.

Detectives investigating the assault found that the suspect, identified as Andrew Ayala-Chavarria, targeted the girls using the social media app Snapchat. The Sheriff's Office said Ayala-Chavarria befriended the minors through the platform, provided them alcohol to the point of intoxication, and then sexually assaulted them.

During their investigation, sheriff's investigators and the Woodland Police Department identified another 16-year-old victim, the Sheriff's Office said.

Sheriff's detectives worked with the county's children's advocacy center Cameron's Place, which provides support services for child abuse victims, to develop probable cause to arrest Ayala-Chavarria.

On July 2, officers with the Woodland and West Sacramento police departments arrested Ayala-Chavarria at his Woodland home on 6th Street just east of the County Fashion Mall. Detectives also searched his home and Snapchat account and it's believed they have located but not yet identified other possible victims.

Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Ayala-Chavarria was encouraged to contact Yolo County Sheriff's Detective Kaitlyn Mullarkey at (530) 668-5280 or at Kaitlyn.Mullarkey@yolocounty.gov. The Sheriff's Office said all information will be handled with sensitivity and discretion.