No charges were filed Wednesday against a 46-year-old man suspected of trying to arrange a sexual encounter with a teenage Temecula girl, and prosecutors returned the case to sheriff’s detectives, asking for additional information before taking action.
William Vandenbush of Homeland was arrested Friday on suspicion of contacting a minor to commit a felony offense, arranging to meet an underage person with lewd intentions and sending pornographic material to a child.
Vandenbush’s case was submitted by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to District Attorney’s Office staff Wednesday, but after reviewing the matter, prosecutors “returned it to (the sheriff’s department) for further investigation,” according to the D.A.’s office.
No other details were disclosed.
The suspect was expected to be released from the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta Wednesday afternoon.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Narciso, Vandenbush allegedly communicated with the victim, whose identity was not disclosed, via the internet with the intent of persuading her to meet him for sex.
Narciso said deputies later learned the party with whom the suspect was communicating was part of a group of teens “conducting their own undercover” investigation of “potential” online predators.
The sergeant alleged Vandenbush “sent nude photographs and agreed to meet” the adolescent in Nicolas Road Park at Nicolas Road and North General Kearny Road shortly after 4 p.m. Friday.
Deputies were tipped off to the rendezvous, and when they arrived, they found the 6-foot, 320-pound suspect surrounded by “a crowd of approximately 20 juveniles recording the encounter,” Narciso said.
Vandenbush was taken into custody without incident, and the youths were questioned but not formally detained for anything.
Narciso said it’s preferable for sworn authorities to handle predator stings, rather than private citizens, and he encouraged “anyone with information related to child sexual abuse or online sexual exploitation of minors to immediately contact their local law enforcement agency.”
Background information on the suspect was unavailable.