A convicted sex offender who tried to set up a rendezvous with whom he believed to be a 13-year-old Riverside girl — but was actually an undercover law enforcement officer — pleaded guilty Monday to felony charges.
Victor Gabriel Perez Jr., 45, of Azusa on Monday admitted one count each of attempted lewd acts on a child and being a registered sex offender trying to arrange a meeting with a minor. The admissions were part of a pretrial agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, which agreed to drop two related charges in exchange for Perez’s admissions.
Superior Court Judge Jay Kiel scheduled a sentencing hearing for Dec. 7 at the Riverside Hall of Justice. The stipulated term of imprisonment under the plea bargain is three years in state prison.
Perez remains on home detention with a GPS monitor until the date of the hearing.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Perez initiated online communications with the undercover decoy from the county’s Child Exploitation Team in September, on the belief that he was exchanging messages with a 13-year-old girl.
The social media conversations continued until early November, when investigators amassed sufficient evidence to obtain and serve a search warrant on the defendant at his residence at 288 Monroe Court in Azusa, according to prosecutors.
He was taken into custody without incident, and evidence was seized at the property.
During the investigation, authorities confirmed that Perez had prior convictions out of Los Angeles County for lewd acts and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in 2008. That resulted in a requirement that he register as a sex offender under Penal Code section 290, which bars registrants from working around kids and prohibits casual conversation with them on any level, except when they’re relatives.