A former Santa Barbara teaching assistant pleaded guilty this week to one felony count of contacting a minor with intent to commit a sexual offense. Adam Escarcega, 34, will be sentenced September 17 and faces up to one year in jail.
Escarcega was employed at Adams Elementary School at the time of his arrest in March. He has since been terminated. He also previously worked at the Santa Barbara City College theater department as a stage manager.
Escarcega’s arrest in a Hollister Avenue parking lot was livestreamed on YouTube by an online vigilante group that goes by the name CC Unit, or Creep Catchers Unit. The San Diego group’s leader, Ghost, said the CC Unit had posed as a 15-year-old boy on an online dating site when they were contacted by Escarcega.
Ghost shared copies of their explicit conversation with authorities, who, after conducting their own investigation, determined there was enough evidence to charge Escarcega. Since 2018, Ghost claimed, the CC Unit’s sting operations have led to “hundreds” of arrests and convictions.
“It is devastating to learn that an employee trusted with students would have an intent to cause any type of harm either in or outside the classroom,” said Kelly Fresch, principal of Adams Elementary School, in an email to parents. “Our schools must be safe learning spaces for our children.”
