Sacramento man arrested in Riverside County in online sex sting

A 44-year-old man was arrested in Murrieta for allegedly soliciting sex from someone he believed to be a minor online after a month-long undercover operation, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said today.   

Deputies from the sheriff's Southwest Station Investigations Bureau conducted an operation in which they posed as a 14-year-old girl online and arranged to meet the suspect after he communicated his intent to have sex, the department said.

According to Sgt. Joe Narciso, the suspect drove from Sacramento to Murrieta, but was met and apprehended by authorities, and was found with cannabis in his vehicle.

The suspect was booked at the Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta on suspicion of contacting a minor with the intent to have sex, sending harmful matter through electronic means to a minor, and offering to furnish cannabis to a minor.

His bail was set at $100,000.   

Anyone with information about the suspect was urged to contact Deputy Au of the Southwest Station at 951-696-3000.