Eleven men arrested for allegedly sexually exploiting children in multi-agency undercover operation in East Bay

Nearly a dozen men were arrested in a multi-agency undercover operation targeting adults searching for children online for sexual exploitation and abuse, authorities said Monday.

Oakley police said they conducted an operation from May 24 to 31 to identify and arrest adults who were seeking inappropriate and sexually motivated relationships online with people they believed to be underage children.

Officers arrested 11 men who had attempted to meet their victims at a predetermined location, police said. Some of those arrested brought candy and condoms. Among those arrested were a Boy Scout leader and a well-known behavioral therapist for children with special needs, police said.

All eleven suspects were put in prison for serious crimes.

An Oakley Police Detective coordinated the operation with assistance from other Oakley PD officers, police said. The group worked with the National Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) as well as the following agencies:

• Antioch Police Department
• Brentwood Police Department
• Concord Police Department
• Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office
• Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office
• Contra Costa County Safe Streets Task Force
• Danville Police Department
• Federal Office of Investigation
• Homeland Security Investigations
• Pittsburg Police Department
• United States Secret Service
• Walnut Creek Police Department

The 11 suspects arrested were identified as follows:

• Isaias Valdez, 30, Pittsburgh
• Jason Pearson, 48, Concord
• Jonathan Henriquez-Garcia, 32, Antioch
• Anthony Taormina, 64, Oakley
• Daniel Sigmundson, 51, Concord
• Ashneel Singh, 29, Hayward
• Humayoun Kabir, 60, Antioch
• Zuhair Mukatash, 59, South San Francisco
• Luis Cuevas-Morales, 25, Hayward
• Yerson Cruz-Perez, 27, Pittsburgh
• Elio Rodriguez-Martinez, 29, Oakland

“I am deeply grateful for all of the efforts and diligence of all law enforcement officers, assistant district attorneys and support personnel that led to the arrest of these very dangerous men,” Oakley Police Chief Paul Beard said in a prepared statement. “In every sense of the word, the innocence of the children was saved by the effort that went into this operation. Knowing some of the histories that led to these arrests, I feel a deep sense of revulsion toward the men who were arrested. I believe I speak for everyone involved in the incident when I say that I fully support prosecutors in pursuing the criminal charges and cases against these men as they seek to hold them fully accountable.”