Behind the Badge
Law enforcement officials Friday reached out to the public to help identify additional victims of a man charged with using social media to commit lewd acts against female minors.
Michael Theodore Mordaunt, 45, of Cypress, an information technology specialist, is accused of creating several Myspace and Facebook accounts using the image of a young teenage boy surfing to lure girls for sex, according to a news release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
The Garden Grove PD, along with the Cypress PD, last year launched separate investigations into Mordaunt for illicit activity alleged to date back to February 2009.
The case since has turned into a joint investigation with help from the Anaheim, La Palma, Los Alamitos and Seal Beach Police Departments, the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Mordaunt was arrested Thursday, July 17 shortly after leaving his house at 6:50 a.m. in the 5900 block of Cathy Avenue in Cypress. Search warrants then were served at Mordaunt’s home and office.
He remains out of custody on $300,000 bail and is expected to be arraigned Monday, July 28, at 8:30 a.m. at the West Justice Center in Westminster.
Mordaunt has been charged with 14 felony counts of contacting a child with the intent to commit a specified crime, five felony counts of lewd acts upon a child, two felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14, two felony counts of meeting a minor with the intent to engage in lewd conduct, one felony count of possession and control of child pornography, and a sentencing enhancement allegation for substantial sexual conduct with a child.
If convicted, Mordaunt faces a maximum sentence of 27 years and four months in state prison and mandatory lifetime registration as a sex offender.
According to the DA news release, Mordaunt is accused of creating the sham social media pages to contact girls primarily between the ages of 12 and 16 years old. He also preyed on his victims through text messages and phone calls, according to the news release.
Mordaunt is accused of having sexually explicit conversations or attempting to meet with the victims, and also is accused of requesting and receiving sexually explicit pictures from several victims.
On multiple occasions, Mordaunt is accused of committing lewd acts on more than one girl.
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with additional information or who believes they have been a victim is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Paul Carvo at (714) 347-8794 or GGPD Detective Dave Young at (714) 741-5836, or CPD Detective Deanna Hartman at (714) 229-3391.
The public is encouraged to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through the toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DGS-2-ICE. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children also may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
