Redwood City Man Accused in Repeated Rape, Sex Abuse of Young Relative

REDWOOD CITY, CA – A man from the unincorporated Redwood City area is behind bars Monday, suspected of the repeated molestation of a young girl, sheriff's officials say.

According to San Mateo County Sheriff's Det. Salvador Zuno, authorities were alerted to the alleged assaults on Tuesday. They were told that a 10-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted by a family member in the North Fair Oaks area, he said.

"These incidents occurred numerous times during the past year," Zuno said in a news release.

Officials first worked with the county department of child and family services to make sure the girl was in a "safe place," Zuno said. Then, investigators went to work trying to track the suspect down.

"Sheriff’s detectives conducted follow-up investigation on [Wednesday] and developed sufficient probable cause to arrest the suspect, 39-year-old Benjamin Ruiz," Zuno said. "Surveillance was conducted and at approximately 5:30 p.m., Ruiz was located in the 1600 block of Gordon Street, in Redwood City and taken into custody."

Jail records indicate Ruiz was ultimately booked on charges of the continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, sexual acts with a child 10 or younger, oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child under 10, forcible rape, oral copulation by force or fear of a victim under 14, sexual penetration with force on a child under 14 and lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14.

His bail was set at $3.9 million.

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(Booking photo: San Mateo County Sheriff's Office)