Man Accused Of Posing As Priest To Lure Women On Social Media

PERRIS (CBSLA.com) — A warning is being issued in the Inland Empire after police say a man trolling a social media site is posing as a priest and targeting women.

As CBS2/KCAL9's Crystal Cruz reports, the post from the man claiming to be a manager at Walmart caught the attention of one social media user named "Vicky."

The name of the user on the post was identified Martin Alvarez, although Alvarez tells Cruz he was hacked.

"He told me that he could interview me at 10," said "Vicky" who explains at 10 p.m. was too late for her.

She struck up an online conversation with the person behind the post and she says it quickly turned sexual.

"He then said he wanted to make a deal with me and I asked him, 'What is the deal?' Then that's when he offered to pay for sex," she said.

"Vicky" also knew something was fishy when she saw a second post from the man claiming to be a priest at church in Perris, planning a women's retreat.

"I called the church and they said they didn't have any affiliations with him. I called Walmart, no affiliations," she said.

Both the church and Walmart told CBS2 the same thing.

"Vicky" filed a police report.

As Cruz reports, the 22-year-old man claims he's actually the victim. He said he was hacked and explains that he reported it to police.

"The officers told me, 'We can't do nothing about it until something really happens. Now with this one with the priest and Walmart, it's like, well, that's not me," he said.

The Sheriff's Department is aware of the posts and encourage people to report any suspicious activity.

"It's sad that this world is coming to this," "Vicky" said.