Santa Ana Man Suspected Of Molesting 8 Boys May Have More Victims
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of molesting at least eight boys, and detectives believe he may have victimized even more children.
Edwin Echeverria, of Santa Ana, was arrested Tuesday in Costa Mesa at his job in the 3500 block of South Harbor, Santa Ana police officials said.
Detectives believe Echeverria began preying on boys in the summer of 2012 by selling them chips, soda and other items from his Warwick Square apartment, in the 700 block of South Lyon Street. Over time, police say Echeverria took advantage of the rapport and trust he had established to convince the children to engage in sexual acts with him.
The victims are as young as 10 years old. The molestations began in August 2012 and continued up to as recently as two weeks ago, Santa Ana police said.
Police were alerted after the parent of one child found evidence their son might be involved in an inappropriate relationship with an unknown person, officials said.
"The number of victims involved in this case is extraordinary," Santa Ana police officials said in a statement. "Detectives are not aware of any other Santa Ana cases involving a single suspect targeting such a large number of victims within memory."
Because Echeverria had access to children, detectives believe there may be more victims. Parents of children who may have had inappropriate contact with Echeverria can call Santa Ana police Family Crimes detectives at (714) 245-8542 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.
