A San Diego man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly agreeing to participate in the molestation of two young children.
Federal agents arrested 32-year-old Samuel Farinas Fernandez Jr. at 10:40 a.m. at a Mission Valley hotel. He had emailed a woman who was actually an undercover FBI agent, saying he would like to molest a 1-year-old boy and 6-year-old female child.
The investigation was conducted under the FBI’s Innocent Images National Initiative with the Internet Crimes Children Task Force.
Fernandez supposedly emailed a suspect, William DeClark IV, (who was apprehended in Cleveland, Ohio) images of child pornography on a Russian image hosting website. Using DeClark’s email account, agents continued to receive child pornography images that were allegedly sent by Fernandez.
Through this communication, FBI agents convinced Hernandez to meet for what he believed to be participation in inappropriate acts involving young children. When he arrived, he was greeted by law enforcement officers from the FBI, U.S. Marshal’s Service and the San Diego Police Department. He was arrested without incident.
The FBI stated that Fernandez was interviewed by agents and confessed to being involved in the distribution of child pornography. He also supposedly admitted that he went to the hotel to molest children.
Fernandez faces federal charges of distribution of child pornography and enticement of a minor. He was booked into the Bureau of Prisons, Metropolitan Correctional Center and made his first court appearance Friday afternoon.
