APD/RPD sting nets 5 men who believed they were meeting teen for sex

ANDERSON — Authorities say a prostitution sting involving undercover officers posing as 15 and 16-year-old girls led to the arrest yesterday of five men they allege agreed to meet at an Anderson motel for sex.

The Friday, Sept. 7 arrests included men from the cities of Anderson, Redding, Shasta Lake, and Shingletown, as well as one 48-year-old suspect who officials say traveled more than a hundred miles from Yuba City to Anderson to meet with what he thought was a teenage girl.

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Members of Anderson Police Department’s Problem Oriented Policing Unit and Redding Police Department’s Neighborhood Policing Unit teamed up to conduct the undercover operation, “targeting would-be predators seeking sex with underage females,” APD explained in a social media release the day after the sting.

Shasta County Probation Department, Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Jail Division, and Shasta County District Attorney’s office assisted during the operation.

During the sting, participating officers created ads on several websites frequently used in the prostitution and escort community, posing as a young female prostitute. When prospective customers began communicating with the undercover officers the officials identified themselves as a 15 or 16-year-old girl, according to APD.

“While this turned off many of the people who contacted the undercover, there was five who didn’t seem to mind,” APD later explained. “The five suspects in our operation all negotiated a specific price with the undercover officer and agreed to meet at a local motel to engage in sexual activities.”

According to officials, each of the five arrested men then traveled from their homes to an Anderson motel, with the intention of engaging in pre-negotiated sexual acts.

“Four of the five suspects agreed to bring alcohol for the underage female as well,” according to officials. Additionally, one of the alleged suspects requested nude photographs from the person he believed was a juvenile, leading to an additional charge of persuading a minor to produce child pornography.

Officials say they arrested five men yesterday after the alleged suspects arranged to meet a person they believed was a 15 or 16-year-old girl for sex at an Anderson motel.

During yesterday’s operation officials arrested Jessie Martinez Jr., 48, of Yuba City; Trevan Reid Purvis, 40, of Redding; Douglas Alan Boucher, 30, of Shingletown; San Ting Saechao, 29, of Shasta Lake; and Lance Vangundy, 23, of Anderson.

Officials say they arrested Martinez Jr. when the Yuba City resident drove nearly two hours after arranging a meeting with the person he thought was a minor for sex.

During Saechao’s arrest, officers found he was in possession of methamphetamine. In addition to being charged with arranging to meet the young girl for sex and possession of a controlled substance, Saechao was also charged with persuading a minor to produce child pornography.

According to officers Purvis, Boucher, Vangundy, and Allen were all separately arrested after arriving at the motel with the intention of engaging in sex with the person they each believed was a teenage girl.

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Members of Anderson PD’s POP team and Redding PD’s NPU say they will continue to work together on operations such as these “to make our community as safe as possible, and serve as a deterrent to those wishing to bring crimes into our cities,” APD officials explained after the successful undercover operation.

 

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Trevor Montgomery, 47, recently moved to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta 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, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s 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.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 14 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.