Five adults were arrested in Walnut Creek after police said they traveled to the city believing they were going to meet a child, only to encounter investigators in an undercover operation. The arrests include a 67-year-old Walnut Creek man and a 42-year-old visitor from Germany. One suspect also faces an attempted-kidnapping charge, according to police.
Walnut Creek police described the operation in yesterday's post from the Walnut Creek Police Department. The department said the arrests were carried out with the Contra Costa County Internet Crimes Against Children task force.
Five suspects, one attempted-kidnapping charge
Police identified the suspects as Jacek Markiewicz, 67, of Walnut Creek; Andrew Garcia, 32, of Concord; Taesu Park, 36, of Marin County; Billie Ray Breland, 29, of Antioch; and Rudolf Naused Robl, 42, who was visiting from Germany. The announcement did not provide additional details about how the suspects were contacted or where the planned meetings were supposed to occur.
All five face charges that include attempted lewd acts with a minor, contacting a minor to commit a sex offense and arranging to meet a minor for sex. Markiewicz also faces an attempted-kidnapping charge, according to the police department.
Charges remain allegations as the cases move forward
California Penal Code Section 288.3 covers contacting or attempting to contact a minor with the intent to commit specified offenses, while Section 288.4 addresses arranging a meeting with someone believed to be a minor for lewd purposes. The attempted lewd acts allegation references California's lewd acts statute and the state's attempt law.
The arrests are allegations, not convictions, and the suspects are presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the charges in court. The July 29 police announcement did not include bail amounts, court dates or information about formal charging documents.
Contra Costa agencies worked through the ICAC task force
Walnut Creek police said the operation involved the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office, the FBI's San Francisco division, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Secret Service. The department credited the agencies with helping identify people before a real child was harmed.
The broader ICAC network is designed to help state and local agencies investigate technology-facilitated crimes against children, with support for investigations, training, victim services and community education, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Similar Contra Costa operation led to arrest in 2024
The latest arrests follow a similar Contra Costa County operation in February 2024, when the Sheriff's Office said investigators arrested a Fairfield man after he allegedly solicited a detective posing as a 13-year-old boy. Claycord reported that case involved several of the same types of allegations, including contacting a minor to commit a felony and arranging a meeting with a minor for lewd purposes.
