Lodi Man Guilty Of Contacting Minor For Lewd Purposes
STOCKTON (BCN) -- A 43-year-old Lodi man was convicted this week on charges related to contacting a minor to commit lewd and lascivious acts and arranging to meet with a minor for lewd purposes, prosecutors said.
Afzal Khan was found guilty Tuesday and will return before Judge Charlotte Orcutt on April 25 for sentencing, according to the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office.
In April 2021, the California Department of Justice, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, investigators from the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office, and 17 other law enforcement agencies worked together on an operation called More than Adequate.
Authorities used multiple platforms that are commonly used for the exploitation of minors to target people involved in crimes such as sex trafficking, prostitution, pimping, and out-of-compliance sex offenders, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Khan had answered an online advertisement a few days prior to his arrest and had arranged a meeting with a teenager for lewd purposes but was unaware that a law enforcement special agent was who he was in contact with and planned to meet.
He was taken into custody on April 12, 2021 in Lathrop upon arriving at a prearranged location where he believed he'd be meeting a minor.
"This is a clear message to those who intend hurt to our children -- my administration, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law in order to protect the community," District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar said in a statement.
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