5 Men Charged In Sexual Exploitation Of Underage OC Girl

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Five Southern California men were charged in the sexual exploitation of a teenage girl from Anaheim, officials announced Tuesday. The arrests capped a months-long investigation.

Police arrested the following men over a span of several months: Mitchel Biela, 31, of Long Beach; Michael Araujo, 48, of Anaheim; Nick Rexford Walpert, 59, of San Diego; Michael Leija, 40, of Norwalk; and Juan Catalan, 42, of Gardena.

The Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force detailed the following charges:

Beila was charged with one felony count of human trafficking of a minor, one felony count of pimping a minor for prostitution and one felony county of pandering a minor.

Araujo was charged with six felony counts of lewd acts upon a teenager, six felony counts of oral sex with a minor and 18 misdemeanor counts of soliciting, engaging or agreeing to engage in prostitution with a minor and one felony count of sodomy of a minor.

Walpert was charged with one felony count of meeting a minor to commit lewd conduct, one felony count of attempted sodomy of a minor, one felony count of attempted unlawful sexual intercourse and one felony count of attempted oral copulation.

Leija, was charged with 10 felony counts of lewd acts upon a teenager and one misdemeanor count of solicitation, engaging or agreeing to engage with prostitution of a minor.

Catalan was charged with one felony count of a lewd act on a teenager, one felony count of luring a child with criminal intent, one felony count of meeting a minor to commit lewd conduct, two misdemeanor counts of soliciting, engaging or agreeing to engage in prostitution with a minor. He was also charged with one misdemeanor count of arranging to meet a minor for lewd conduct.

Biela appeared to still be in custody Tuesday, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department inmate search tool. Patch was not able to immediately confirm with authorities whether the other four men were still in custody on Tuesday.

The investigation centered on a website called SugarDaddyMeet, Sgt. Shane Carringer told Patch. The platform is ostensibly designed for adult women looking to meet affluent older men and prohibits use by anyone under 18, according to their website.

The task force launched an investigation in September after receiving reports of a juvenile victim, Carringer said. "It started with a community complaint, somebody called the task force with a report of some suspicious behavior," he said. "So that investigation led to the identification of the juvenile victim."

Once the teen girl was identified, investigators spent four months tracking down men who reportedly met her in person to engage in sex acts, police said.

Carringer specified that investigators do not suspect the men to be part of a human trafficking ring or found any evidence that the five men knew each other personally. "They all seemed to be connected through the website," he said.

While the task force continues to pursue other potential traffickers for separate incidents, Carringer said there aren't any other known suspects tied to this particular juvenile victim.

"The benefit of anonymity also works in law enforcement’s favor," Anaheim Police Chief Jorge Cisneros said in a statement. "Let those looking to sexually exploit children, or any victim be warned. We are investigating these crimes and will bring you to justice, which these suspects now know, firsthand.”

The Orange County District Attorney's Human Exploitation and Trafficking unit has filed charges with solicitation of a minor in addition to felony sex charges. Deputy District Attorney Kelcie Wiemann will prosecute these cases, according to a Tuesday statement from the task force.

“No matter how many ways predators continue to try to disguise their sexual abuse of children, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will never stop protecting these vulnerable victims," the statement read. "Working together we will continue to outsmart those who prey on innocent children, arrest them, and prosecute them. No child should have to suffer sexual abuse and we will hold these monsters accountable.”