Two Santa Barbara Men Arrested for Separate Sex Crimes

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office arrested two men in separate incidents on February 1 and 2, with both men alleged to have committed sex crimes against multiple minors. Both were the result of what Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Raquel Zick called “prolonged investigations” of sex crimes against minors.

Around 7 a.m. on February 1, detectives with the Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Bureau arrested 21-year-old William James Trautwein Jr. at his residence on the 4200 block of Calle Real in Santa Barbara for sex crimes.

A statement released by the Sheriff’s Office stated that Trautwein was arrested for violations of sexual assault, assault with great bodily injury, unlawful sex with a minor, and possession of child pornography. Authorities are also asking for additional survivors to come forward. 

According to Zick’s statement, Trautwein was booked at the Santa Barbara County Main Jail on a warrant for felony charges after a prolonged investigation that began in November 2022. Trautwein’s alleged violations involved multiple victims, young women investigators say he primarily targeted on social media over a two-year period. Sheriff’s detectives believe that there may be additional unidentified victims and are encouraging the public to provide any information on additional crimes associated with Trautwein. 

“The Sheriff’s Office is aware that survivors of sexual assault and abuse are often reluctant to come forward for many different reasons,” wrote Zick in the statement. “We have many resources available regardless of your decision to participate in a criminal investigation.”

Trautwein remains in county jail without bail.

The next day, February 2, at around 9:40 a.m., sheriff’s deputies located and arrested another man, 50-year-old Peter Aibor Jeschke on a warrant for alleged sex crimes against a minor dating back to 2000 in the Santa Barbara area. 

In a statement, Zick said that Jeschke’s arrest was the result of an investigation that opened when a survivor — who said that Jeschke was their tennis coach in the early 2000s — came forward in October 2023. Sheriff’s detectives conducted a months-long investigation that resulted in a court-approved warrant for Jeschke, who was located and arrested near tennis courts on the 1400-block of Park Place. 

Jeschke was arrested without incident and charged with five counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child of age 14 or 15 and two counts of oral copulation of a person under age 16. He was booked at the Main Jail on $100,000 bail. 

While the investigation is ongoing, the Sheriff’s Office encourages anyone with additional information on Jeschke to contact Sheriff’s Deputy Special Duty Jaycee Hunter at (805) 681-4100. 

If you have information regarding Trautwein, the Sheriff’s Office asks that you contact Detective Plett by phone at (805) 681-4150. 

If you would like to remain anonymous, you can provide information at www.sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip/ or by calling (805) 681-4171.