A 61-year-old Costa Mesa salon owner was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of sexually assaulting clients over a span of roughly 10 years, with victims ranging from 13-year-old minors to adults, according to police. Ricardo Garcia, who owns Hair by Ricardo on Harbor Boulevard, was taken into custody at the salon and had posted bail by Wednesday.
According to a statement from the Costa Mesa Police Department reported by the Los Angeles Times, Garcia is suspected of sexually assaulting multiple clients over the decade-long period, with the alleged conduct beginning as inappropriate touching that escalated into assault, per victims' reports. Police spokesperson Roxi Fyad confirmed that five victims have come forward so far, and the department said the investigation remains ongoing. Garcia reportedly resides in Fullerton.
Some of the alleged assaults took place directly inside the salon itself, which sits at 2200 Harbor Boulevard, according to a Costa Mesa Police Department statement reported by MyNewsLA. The location sits along one of the city's major commercial corridors, a stretch lined with retail shopping centers and other personal-service businesses, per the Costa Mesa Police Department's own account of the business's address.
Police Seek More Potential Victims
Costa Mesa police have asked anyone with information to contact Detective Eloísa Peralta at (714) 754-5039 or Sgt. Detective David Sevilla at (714) 754-4933, per the Los Angeles Times account of the department's release. The appeal for additional victims mirrors a tactic the department has used before in cases involving long-term abuse by figures in positions of trust. In March 2022, Costa Mesa police made a similar public appeal after arresting a local music teacher accused of sexually assaulting minor students over several years, according to an Orange County District Attorney's Office release at the time.
The department also has a history of pursuing cases against personal-service workers accused of abusing client access. Costa Mesa police arrested an unlicensed masseuse in December 2018 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a client, according to a report from Patch.
What Comes Next Legally
Should the Orange County District Attorney's Office file charges, the case would likely fall under the office's Sexual Assault Unit, which works alongside the county's Child Abuse Services Team to conduct forensic interviews and prosecute alleged sex crimes against minors, per the Orange County District Attorney's Office. Under California Penal Code Section 243.4, sexual battery is classified as a wobbler offense that can be prosecuted as a felony punishable by up to four years in state prison and a $10,000 fine, with enhanced penalties applying when the alleged victims are minors or were unlawfully restrained, according to the Shouse Law Group's legal summary of the statute.
Separate from any criminal proceedings, the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology holds statutory authority under Business and Professions Code Sections 7404 and 7405 to suspend or revoke a stylist's or establishment's license following a criminal conviction substantially related to professional duties, according to the board's own regulatory text. It remains unclear whether formal felony charges have been filed against Garcia or whether state licensing regulators have opened any disciplinary review of the salon.
Costa Mesa, a city of roughly 110,000 residents, is policed by about 130 sworn officers under Chief Joyce LaPointe, operating out of department headquarters at 99 Fair Drive, according to city background information. The department says its investigation into Garcia and the Hair by Ricardo salon continues.
