A 25-year-old man is facing charges after Irvine police say he posed as a 17-year-old on Snapchat to lure a 13-year-old girl to a local park, where investigators allege he committed a lewd act in July. Detectives arrested Juan Carlos Amaya on October 1 in Baldwin Park, and now they want to hear from anyone else who may have had similar contact with him.
According to a post from the Irvine Police Department, detectives began investigating after the assault was reported in September, a month after it allegedly occurred. Investigators say the suspect contacted the 13-year-old victim through Snapchat while posing as a teenager, and that the two eventually met at an Irvine park, where police allege a lewd act took place. Amaya was booked into Orange County Jail on October 1 on charges including a lewd act upon a child under 14 and a violation of Penal Code 311.4(c).
Investigators say they uncovered evidence that Amaya communicated with other minors on Snapchat and solicited sexual acts in exchange for money or vapes, according to the same police account. Police identified two Snapchat profile names allegedly used by Amaya: amayaaajr and chamgagnealex_8. Detectives are asking anyone who had similar interactions with those accounts, or who has information about the case, to contact Detective Robinson at [email protected].
Charges Include a Lewd Act Count
Amaya faces a charge under Penal Code 288(a).
The Penal Code 311.4(c) charge involves using a minor for sex acts.
Arrest Made in Baldwin Park
Irvine detectives arrested Amaya in Baldwin Park.
This isn't the first time Irvine police have dealt with a Snapchat-related solicitation case. The department previously investigated a cyber-crimes matter involving a 32-year-old suspect arrested for soliciting minors through platforms including Discord and Snapchat, as reported by New Santa Ana.
Grooming Tactics Mirror Statewide Warnings
Cases like this one echo warnings issued earlier this year by county prosecutors. In February, the Orange County District Attorney's Office put out a public alert cautioning parents that digital predators increasingly build fake profiles on social messaging apps, pretending to be teenagers to gain trust before luring children into meeting in person.
Investigations involving apps like Snapchat also come with technical hurdles for police. An Orange County Grand Jury report found that ephemeral platforms present distinct challenges for investigators because messages automatically disappear unless preserved through user screenshots or search warrants. Regional agencies across Orange County routinely lean on the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to trace digital communications and identify additional victims in exploitation cases.
The appeal for more potential victims fits a pattern for Irvine police. Hoodline reported in September that a GFiber installer was accused of sending explicit content from a customer's phone, with detectives similarly releasing suspect photos and asking for others to come forward. Just last week, the department made a comparable public appeal in a separate case involving a man accused of secretly photographing a woman at an H Mart on Alton Parkway.
