Sheriff’s deputies on Tuesday arrested Giovanni Gonzalez, 24, on charges related to possessing child pornography following tips from two different law enforcement agencies. In late September, the Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Bureau heard reports from the Los Angeles Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline Report that a computer’s IP address traced to Carpinteria had accessed upward of 600 photos and videos depicting child pornography.
A subsequent investigation found that Gonzalez reportedly forged an Internet identity as a teenage girl, which he used to get victims to send him images, which he later traded online. After serving a warrant at Gonzalez’s Carpinteria home, authorities arrested him and booked him into the Santa Barbara County Jail on $100,000 bail.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kelly Hoover, in a prepared statement, said the department “encourages parents to monitor their child’s Internet usage to ensure that they do not fall victim to an online predator.”