Writer’s note: The following was originally scheduled for Dec. 25 but due to something or other also happening that day, it was rescheduled for today (Jan. 1). Then the writer left for a week and one day, which we only mention in case things changed with these cases Between Dec. 22 and Jan. 1.
A Colton man was recently sentenced to 34 years to life in state prison for forcibly raping and trafficking a 15-year-old girl in Orange County, then pimping and pandering a woman here.
A Tustin man suspected of kidnapping and attempting to sexually assault a 28-year-old woman in Santa Ana was arrested in Costa Mesa recently.
Irvine police detectives are searching for a sexual battery suspect who struck in the Woodbury area Dec. 18-19.
Raymond Lee Gibson, 29, was found guilty by a jury on Oct. 12 of felony forcible oral copulation, forcible rape, lewd acts upon a child, human trafficking of a minor, pandering a minor under 16 years old, pimping a minor, assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, pandering by procuring, pimping and sentencing enhancements for a second strike and human trafficking a minor by force or fear. He met a 15-year-old girl in 2016 and began trafficking her in areas known for prostitution in Orange County. Gibson forced her to engage in commercial sex acts with johns, and he kept the money she received. He also started pimping out an adult woman before May 30, 2016, when the teen prostitute tried to flee an Orange County motel room. Gibson found her, forcibly raped her and forced her to give him oral sex, choking her during the course of the nightmarish sexual assault. On June 11, 2016, she was contacted by San Bernardino County law enforcement, to whom she reported the crimes. On June 15, 2016, while pimping the adult woman in an Orange County motel room, Gibson was arrested by a San Bernardino County detective and members of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes the Orange County District Attorney’s office, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the California Highway Patrol, the FBI and the police departments of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Newport Beach, Santa Ana and community and non-profit partners.
Jorge Cruz De Armas, 27, was arrested by Santa Ana police detectives at his workplace after evidence found at the scene of a sexual assault revealed his identity, cops say. Around 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 18, a man offered to give a 28-year-old woman a ride, which she accepted. Moments later, he asked her if she wanted to have sex, and she refused. He then drove her to an alley in the 1600 block of East Palm Street in Santa Ana, where he attacked her. The driver began to strangle the victim and cover her mouth with duct tape when a Good Samaritan heard screaming coming from the vehicle and intervened. The rescuer opened a car door so the woman could exit, and he took photos of the vehicle as the driver took off. That evidence led Santa Ana Police Department detectives to De Armes, who is suspected of having victimized others. If that is you, someone you know or if you have any other helpful information, contact Detective E. Majors at 714.245.8378 or via email at em*****@sa*******.org. Orange County Crime Stoppers accepts anonymous tips at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.
Around 8:15 p.m. Dec. 18, a woman was jogging at Rolling Green and Statuary in Irvine, where she heard someone on a skateboard ride up behind her. The stranger shoved her to the ground and covered her mouth with his hands as she screamed. Unable to stop her from screaming, he stood up and touched her in a sexual manner before riding off on her skateboard. Later that same night, the Irvine Police Department received a report of a similar incident between 6:15 and 6:30 p.m. the night before. A female jogger at Groveland and Townsend was groped by a man riding past her on a skateboard, and his description matched that of the attacker in the Rolling Green and Statuary incident. He was described as white, in his early 20s, 5-foot-10 to 6 feet tall, with a thin or medium build. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt and dark pants. “The Irvine Police Department is aggressively investigating this case and will increase patrols in the area,” reads an advisory. “Residents who live on the streets involved who have video surveillance footage from the time the crimes occurred are asked to contact the Irvine Police Department. Video from homes that face the Jeffrey Open Space trail are also sought.” Anyone with images or information should contact Detective Keith Herter at 949.724.7183 or via email at kh*****@ci**********.org.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.