| For Immediate Release Case #10WF1057
|
MAN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR ATTEMPTING TO MEET 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL THROUGH CRAIGSLIST AD AND ENGAGE IN ILLEGAL SEX ACTS AFTER EXCHANGING SEXUALLY EXPLICIT E-MAILS
*Two additional defendants have been charged in separate cases as a result of the same Craigslist ad
WESTMINSTER – A man will be arraigned today for arranging to meet a fictitious 13-year-old girl after responding to a Craigslist ad after exchanging explicit sexual messages over the Internet to engage illegal sex acts. The ad was posted by the Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) posing as a 13-year-old girl looking to earn $100 in an effort to catch Internet sexual predators.
Howard Houchen Wang, 38, Mission Viejo, is charged with one felony count each of attempted lewd act on child under 14, contacting a child with intent to commit specified crime, meeting a minor with the intent to engage in lewd conduct, and attempted distribution of lewd material to a minor. The defendant faces a maximum sentence of five years and 10 months in state prison if convicted. Wang is out of custody on $100,000 bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned today, Friday, June 4, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. in Department W-14, West Justice Center, Westminster.
On May 10, 2010, Wang is accused of responding to the HBPD Craigslist posting from a fictitious 13-year-old girl looking to make $100. Over the course of several hours, Wang is accused of sending several sexually explicit e-mails and instant messages to the girl and discussing having sex. Wang is also accused of sending digital images of himself to the fictitious girl. The defendant is accused of arranging to meet with the girl the next day in Huntington Beach. At approximately 7:00 p.m. on May 11, 2010, Wang is accused of arriving to meet to the fictitious 13-year-old girl with condoms and $80 in cash. HBPD arrested the defendant.
The Orange County District Attorney filed charges against two additional Internet sexual predators as a result of the same Craigslist ad posted by HBPD.
Gregory Ruiz Aguirre, Case #10WF1220
Aguirre, 53, El Monte, is charged with one felony count each of meeting a minor with intent to engage in lewd contact, attempted lewd act on a child under 14, and contacting a child with the intent to commit a specified crime. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of four years in state prison. Aguirre is being held on $100,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned June 18, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. in Department W-15, West Justice Center, Westminster.
On May 18, 2010, Aguirre is accused of responding to the same HBPD Craigslist ad and exchanging several sexually explicit emails with the fictitious teen girl. He is accused of discussing oral copulation and other sexual conduct in text messages and e-mails and arranging to meet on May 26, 2010. The defendant is accused of driving to the agreed-upon location in Huntington Beach. Upon arriving, Aguirre was pulled over by HBPD officers in a marked patrol car. Aguirre was taken into custody by HBPD.