Mountain View man arrested for felony possession of child pornography, solicitation
MOUNTAIN VIEW -- Police in Mountain View on Tuesday announced the arrest of a suspect following a months-long investigation in connection with child abuse sexual material, according to authorities.
The extensive investigation began in January of this year after Mountain View Police Department cyber detectives received a tip that had originally been reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding possible child abuse sexual material, also known as CSAM.
The department's cyber detectives immediately began to investigate the tip further and learned that the material was connected to a man identified as 26-year-old Mountain View resident Artiz Banuelos. Further investigation uncovered thousands of CSAM images and over 100 chats between minors and Banuelos on social media. Police said the chats included requests for inappropriate images or videos as well as requests to meet in person.
Detectives built their case by culling through each and every image and chat. On Tuesday, detectives arrested Banuelos without incident at his work, a Best Buy location in Mountain View. A search warrant was also served at Banuelos' Mountain View home and additional follow-up will be conducted in this case.
Banuelos was booked into Santa Clara County Main jail for felony possession of child pornography, solicitation of a minor to commit a sex crime and arranging a meeting with a minor to commit lewd acts.
"The determination and persistence in this case is reflective of the kind of officers we have here at Mountain View PD – dedicated to the protection and service of our most vulnerable residents, our children," MVPD Captain Saul Jaeger said in the release. "I'm very grateful that this suspect was apprehended by our team."
As police continue their investigation, they ask that anyone who is a victim or knows someone who may be a victim of Banuelos, should contact Officer Pablo Donato at pablo.donato@mountainview.gov.