Luis Anaya-Martin Of Santa Ana Arrested On Child Pornography Charges
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) – A 22-year-old Santa Ana man has been taken into custody on allegations of downloading and trading more than 2,000 images and videos of child pornography on online platforms.
Santa Ana police reported Thursday that Luis Pablo Anaya Martin was arrested on seven counts, including possession and control of child pornography, matter portraying sexual sadism or sexual masochism of a person under 18, advertising child pornography and distribution of child pornography.
"We have done several search warrants at his residence," Santa Ana police Cpl. Sonia Rojo told CBSLA Thursday. "We found thousands of images and photographs that he had in his possession of child pornography."
According to police, investigators executed 17 online search warrants in the investigation into Martin. On Nov. 10, they raided his home, seizing multiple electronic devices on which they found child sexual abuse material.
"Most of these images that this individual had were gruesome, and most of these were from ages of 5-years-old and younger," Rojo said.
Rojo disclosed that Martin was ordained as a minister in 2018. It's unclear if he worked at any local churches. Detectives are asking families who may have had any interaction with him to come forward. At this point, there's no evidence that this role is directly related to the alleged crimes.
The arrest was prompted by a tip to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is made up of thousands of police departments nationwide. The arrest is part of a larger investigation that could lead to more arrests and federal charges.
Rojo noted the charges Martin facing deal with trading child pornography rather than creating it, but added detectives want to get his photo out because they fear he may be involved in other crimes.
"This is a very dangerous person," Rojo said. "He would utilize these images and videos for his own benefit to conduct child pornography exchanges with other individuals that are likeminded."
If convicted as charged, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Martin is due back in court in February. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call detectives at 714-245-8420.
