4 men busted in WashCo undercover child sex sting

Elise Haas
·2 min read

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Four Washington County men were arrested in an undercover sting and now face child sex charges, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said.

The sting took place on April 4 as investigators used multiple dating apps and social media sites to pose as underage children. During the sting, several people immediately ended their conversations when they realized they were talking with a minor.

However, officials said, these 4 people continued and were later arrested for luring a minor and first-degree online sexual corruption of a child:

  • Matthew P. Goldman, 30, of Tigard

  • Jesus Rodriguez-Garcia, 27, of Forest Grove.

  • Gerardo Serrano-Garcia, 25, of Hillsboro

  • Ruben Olvera-Gaona, 54, of Forest Grove

Authorities said Olvera-Gaona also had an outstanding warrant for giving false information to a peace officer.

The investigation is active and ongoing and officials believe there are more victims.

“Rodriguez-Garcia made statements while chatting with the decoy that he had engaged in sexual contact with other minors,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

The Cornelius Police Department helped the sheriff’s office with the sting, officials said.

Child Abuse Prevention Month

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, one of the reasons for this latest operaton, though detectives with Washington County said they do these missions year-round.

“The whole point of this is we want to try to get to these children before they actually get victimized by an actual hands-on person. So this is one of the ways we get to it, we try to get these people and get them off the street,” Detective Anel Cerić told KOIN 6 News.

“There’s people that go on there to find children and they’ll prey on whatever social media app there is out there to find children to engage sexual conduct.”

Online predators pose a constant threat. Parents need to remember how important it is to be aware.

“Parents need to be involved in their children’s phone usage. I mean, that’s the biggest thing. We get cases all the time of parents are unaware of what their children are doing, what kind of pictures they’re sending out there, who they’re talking to,” Cerić said. “So really to be involved in their children’s life.”

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