SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow for lewd acts on children and possession of child pornography after posing as a teen boy and soliciting nude images of young girls on social media.

Circumstances of the Case

• Between April 2014, and November 2016, Bermudez is accused of operating a Facebook account where he posed as a 16-year-old boy and solicited nude images from at least 13 girls under 14 years old.
• Bermudez is accused of persuading the victims to engage in lewd acts involving substantial sexual conduct and send him photographs and videos of the acts.
• On Jan. 31, 2017, Homeland Security Investigations, Orange County (HSI) was contacted by the Sioux Falls Police Department in South Dakota because their investigation led to an IP address for the defendant in Westminster.
• HSI investigated this case and obtained dozens of explicit social media messages Bermudez is accused of sending to children through the alias social media account.
• The defendant was charged on Feb. 28, 2018, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Bermudez turned himself in to HSI on March 5, 2018.

“Keeping children safe from sexual exploitation is a top priority for HSI,” said Mark Zito, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for HSI Orange County. “We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate those who commit these types of crimes to ensure they feel the full weight of the law.”

Prosecutor: Deputy District Attorney Bobby Taghavi, Sexual Assault Unit

Orange County District Attorney / Case # 18CF0606 / March 6, 2018