A former Santa Clarita resident was charged Tuesday in an 11-count federal grand jury indictment alleging that — months after his release from state prison after being convicted of child sex offenses — he produced child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and used online chat programs to entice two minors into prostitution.  Kai Whitney Sommers, 36, of Ventura and formerly from ...

A Canyon Country man who is a former Navy SEAL was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in federal prison for producing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) for surreptitiously filming nude minor victims with hidden cameras in a residential setting. Robert Quido Stella, 51, of Canyon Country, was sentenced by United States District Judge George H. Wu. At the conclusion of ...

A 75-year-old Castaic man was arrested Friday for allegedly being in possession of child pornography.  Around 9:20 p.m. Friday detectives located a Castaic man who was wanted for being in possession of child pornography, said Sgt. David Payne with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Human Trafficking Task Force.  The incident was first reported back in 2020 and the case was ...

A Canyon Country man, identified as a former Navy SEAL, was convicted Friday of the possession and production of child pornography. Watch as law enforcement served the search warrant in July of 2021 in footage obtained by KHTS Radio. Friday, a federal jury convicted a Canyon Country man and former Navy SEAL of producing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) for ...

A Santa Clarita man was arrested in Ohio for allegedly distributing over 100 videos and images of child pornography while living in Valencia.  Phillip Alan Drechsler, 60, from Santa Clarita, was indicted by a grand jury on three counts of distribution of child pornography, according to a federal complaint.   On or about June 16, 2021, Missouri FBI Task Force Officer ...

A Santa Clarita man was arrested Friday by federal authorities in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation cases. Ian Nathanial Johnson, 36, of Santa Clarita, was arrested Friday after prosecutors filed a criminal complaint charging him with distributing and possessing child pornography. The investigation into Johnson was launched after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received ...

A music teacher from Ventura County who gave flute lessons throughout Southern California, including in Santa Clarita, was sentenced Thursday to 183 months in federal prison for producing child pornography. John Edward Zeretzke, 62, of Ventura, was sentenced to 183 months — or 15 years, three months — in federal prison by United States District Judge Fernando M. Olguin, according ...

On Friday, Santa Clarita resident and former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Deputy pled not guilty after being in possession of child pornography.  Scott Travis Rodriguez, 41, pled not guilty in court on Friday after being charged with possession of child pornography, said Ricardo Santiago, spokesperson with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. See Related: Santa Clarita Murder Suspect ...

A music teacher from Ventura County who gave flute lessons throughout Southern California, including in Santa Clarita, pled guilty to one federal count of production of child pornography less than a month after being sentenced on state charges.   John Edward Zeretzke, 61, of Ventura, pled guilty to one count of production of child pornography Thursday,  according to the United States ...

A San Fernando Valley man was arrested in Santa Clarita last Tuesday after allegedly sending pornography to a minor, officials said. Cruz Caldera, 25, from Mission Hills, was arrested on Tuesday, July 14, on a felony count of sending harmful manner, pornography, to an individual under the age of 18, said Lt. Richard Ruiz, with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s ...