A 35-year-old California sex offender is behind bars after he allegedly used a fake social media account to pose as an 18-year-old man to meet a teenage girl. When the two planned to meet in real life, he allegedly forced her into his truck before taking her to a “secluded orchard” to rape her, police say.
Edgar Perez Medina is facing charges of kidnapping with intent to commit rape, communicating with a minor with intent to commit sex acts, arranging a meeting with a minor to commit sex acts and possession of child pornography, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
The 16-year-old girl started communicating with Medina on his fake social media account on Nov. 9, according to police. The next day, they arranged to meet up near her home in south Stanislaus County, which is not far from the Bay Area. When Medina drove up in his car, he allegedly “demanded” she get inside, per police.
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“He then drove to a secluded orchard, where he violently sexually assaulted the victim,” deputies said.
After the assault, Medina drove her into the city limits of Turlock where he dropped her off. The girl reported the rape to deputies who “quickly identified” Medina as a suspect. Detectives learned Medina is a sex offender. Records show he was convicted of a crime eerily similar to the one for which he is now accused back in 2017.
For that case, Medina was convicted of trying to meet with a minor to have sex in Merced County. Details were not immediately available but the conviction put him on the Golden State’s sexual offender list for life. According to California’s recidivism scale, Medina was considered to have an “average risk” of committing a new sex crime.
Once Stanislaus County detectives identified him as a suspect, they obtained a warrant to search his home. They found child sexual abusive material at the home, deputies said. His vehicle was also seized.
Medina is at the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on a $4.8 million bail.
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