A convicted sex offender was charged Wednesday with stealing from victims at high school wrestling meets in Anaheim and Yorba Linda.
Fred Joe Ruiz, 54, was charged with two counts of burglary, a count of grand theft, and two counts of theft of property, all felonies. He was also charged with three counts of identity theft and two counts of being a sex offender on school grounds without lawful business, all misdemeanors.
Ruiz pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana and was scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing April 4 in the North Justice Center in Fullerton. He was ordered held on $500,000 bail.
Ruiz is accused of stealing from victims on Jan. 25 at Esperanza High School in Anaheim and March 9 at Yorba Linda High School, according to the criminal complaint.
Ruiz was convicted of multiple counts of lewd acts with a child under 14 years old on March 29, 2000, in Los Angeles County, according to court records.
In the current allegations, prosecutors say Ruiz was at a high school wrestling meet committing multiple thefts and then used stolen credit cards to buy goods at a Target store in Yorba Linda.
Investigators said in court records that a search of the defendant’s phone showed “further evidence of Ruiz going to multiple athletic events of high school aged boys where he recorded them.”
Investigators added that there was “also evidence of him communicating with multiple children” suspected of being male high school students.