Murrieta resident arrested for inappropriate contact with a minor

MURRIETA – A Murrieta resident was arrested after sending lewd images of himself and attempting to arrange a meeting for sex with a 15-year-old girl, according to Murrieta Police Lieutenant Ron Driscoll, of the department’s Detective Bureau.

The man first met the juvenile while she was going door-to-door in a residential neighborhood, handing out flyers offering her services for babysitting and animal sitting.

The man, who was later identified as 23-year-old, John Louis Colberg, was charged with two felonies and two misdemeanors.

The disturbing incidents began Saturday, June 11, about 3 p.m., when the teen was handing out flyers in the 24000 block of Echo Ridge Drive, in Murrieta.

For safety reasons, the cell phone number listed on the girl’s flyer belonged to her mother.

While handing out flyers door to door, the juvenile briefly spoke with Colberg at his residence when she gave him a flyer offering her baby and animal sitting services.

“A short time later the juvenile began receiving text messages from Colberg inquiring about having a massage,” Driscoll said.

Over the next three days, Colberg continued communicating with “the juvenile” through her mother’s phone.

All “the communication was sexual in nature,” according to Driscoll.

Colberg sent “sexually explicit photos of himself” via text to the girl’s mother’s cell phone Driscoll explained. “Colberg asked the juvenile to send him sexually explicit photos in return.”

At that point, the girl and her parents reported the interactions, communications, and circumstances to the Murrieta Police Department and an investigation was initiated.

According to Driscoll, on Wednesday, June 15, just four days after getting what he thought was the teenager’s cell phone number, Colberg sent a text message to the victim to arrange a meeting between himself and the girl.

At about noon on the same day, Murrieta Police detectives detained Colberg as he approached the juvenile’s home. He was arrested without incident.

A jail records search revealed Colberg was booked at the Southwest Detention Center on suspicion of sending harmful material to a minor with the intent to seduce and communicating with a minor with the intent to commit a sex act. Both are felonies. He was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of arranging a meeting with a minor with the intent to engage in lewd acts, and annoying or molesting a minor.

Colberg was released the day after his arrest after posting $10,000 bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta August 10.

Anyone with information regarding this case or anyone who may have been victimized by Colberg is encouraged to contact Detective Andy Spagnolo at (951) 461-6342. Callers can refer to incident file number 1606M-3132 and can remain anonymous.You can also provide information anonymously via WeTip at (800) 78-CRIME or (800) 782-7463.

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Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg and breaking his back in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.