Registered sex offender poses as a woman to lure teens to home, California cops say

Women and teenage girls who responded to ads for babysitters and house-cleaners may have thought they were dealing with a woman, a California sheriff’s department says.

Instead, it was a 42-year-old registered sex offender who used fake names and phony voices to try to lure them to his home, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department reported.

Deputies arrested Arturo Alfred Martinez of Hesperia on Jan. 10 on suspicion of contact with a minor with the intent to commit a sexual act, according to a statement.

Several women, including a 17-year-old girl, had complained to the sheriff’s office about being contacted by Martinez under various ruses, deputies wrote. He tried to lure them to his home, deputies said.

Martinez sought out women and girls through “babysitting services, cleaning service, taxi services, real estate companies and possibly other delivery type businesses,” deputies wrote.

He used a false name on online services and social media, and disguised his voice to appear as a woman, the department reported.

Deputies wrote that Martinez, who had previously been convicted of indecent exposure, contacted women from Adelanto, Apple Valley, Hesperia, Phelan and Victorville. They encouraged other possible victims to come forward, deputies wrote.