Behind the Badge
Editor’s note: The Fullerton Police Department on Monday released the name of the website abused in a case involving a suspect who met and lured a 13-year-old victim into having a sexual relationship with him. The website info was released in an effort to educate parents about the dangers of their children using the Internet unsupervised, and to provide parents with an awareness as to what may be occurring on their children’s devices without their knowledge.
Conti met the victim on the website www.younow.com, which is described as “the best way to discover talented broadcasters, watch live streams and video chat with people from around the world.”
In a June 5 news release, the FPD said: “This should be a reminder to all parents that, while there are many legitimate websites where legitimate services are offered, there are people that are looking to prey on our children through these sites. The only way to defend against these predators is through educating our children on the potential dangers of the Internet, communicating with them regularly, supervising their activities, and maintaining vigilance.”
Here is the original story on the arrest:
The Fullerton PD on Saturday arrested a 26-year-old North Hollywood man for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old Fullerton girl he met online.
The arrest of Vincent John Conti capped a two-month investigation, and police are asking other potential victims to come forward.
On March 30, FPD detectives learned that Conti might have been soliciting a sexual relationship with the female using an undisclosed, but commonly used, social media site, the FPD said in a news release Sunday, June 4.
After a thorough investigation, detectives confirmed Conti was, in fact, engaged in a sexual relationship with the child, the news release said. They arranged to have him meet the victim Saturday, June 3, at a prearranged location.
When Conti arrived to meet the girl, he was confronted by police and fled on foot.
After a short foot pursuit, Conti was arrested by FPD patrol officers and plain-clothes detectives in a nearby flood-control channel.
The investigation is ongoing.
Detectives believe there may be other underage victims who have had sexual relationships with Conti, and encourage those victims to come forward.
Conti is being held at Orange County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. The web page designer is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, June 6.
Anyone with information about other possible victims, and anyone who may have more information regarding Conti’s alleged illicit activities, is asked to contact Fullerton Police Det. L. Garcia at 714-738-6358 or Sgt. J. Ema at 714-738-6580. Those wishing to provide information anonymously can do so by calling Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP-OCCS, or by visiting their website at occrimestoppers.org
