| For Immediate Release Case # 13WF3001 October 29, 2013 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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FORMER OCTA BUS DRIVER TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND STORING IT ON HOME COMPUTER AND WORK LOCKER
WESMINSTER – A former Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) bus driver is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow for possessing hundreds of graphic images and videos of child pornography. Richard Raoul Contreras, 63, Garden Grove, is charged with one felony count of possession and control of child pornography. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of three years in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. The defendant is out of custody on $20,000 bail. Contreras is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. in Department W-1, West Justice Center, Westminster.
On May 30, 2012, members of the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force (OCCETF) searched the defendant’s home after receiving information of possible possession of child pornography. Contreras is accused of possessing hundreds of videos and images containing graphic child pornography on his home computer stored on hard drives, flash drives, CDs, and DVDs. The defendant is accused of also storing CDs and DVDs containing images of child pornography in his work locker.
An extensive investigation was conducted by OCCETF. OCCETF is comprised of members from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD); Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Inspection Service; Huntington Beach Police Department; and Newport Beach Police Department. OCCETF investigates Internet-related crimes against children and crimes involving the possession, production, and distribution of child pornography.
On Oct. 2, 2013, OCSD arrested the defendant. At the time of the crime, Contreras was employed by OCTA as a bus driver, but has since retired.
If convicted, Contreras’ mandatory lifetime sex offender registration will bar him from entering County recreational areas and City parks which have passed the Sex Offender Ordinance. Visit www.orangecountyda.com to read the prior press releases on the County’s Sex Offender Ordinance as well as the 14 other cities that have enacted the Child Safety Zone Ordinance.
Deputy District Attorney Karyn Stokke of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.