Mauricio Tapia, the 26-year-old Moorpark musician known to millions of listeners as Los Retros, has been charged with four felony counts of unlawful acts with a child under age 10. Tapia was arrested on October 8 and booked into Ventura County Jail the following day, with bail set at $3 million.
Formal charges were filed in Ventura County Superior Court on October 12, following Tapia's arrest by Ventura County Sheriff's deputies, according to USA Today. Court records cited by the outlet show Tapia faces special allegations that the victim was vulnerable and that he took advantage of a position of trust, allegations that could lead to a harsher sentence if he is found guilty. As of USA Today's report, Tapia had not entered a plea, and he is scheduled to return to court on October 22. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office is investigating the case, and USA Today said it reached out to Tapia's representatives for comment.
Tapia is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. The charges stem from allegations of unlawful acts with a child under age 10, filed in Southern California earlier this month.
A California Law on Specified Conduct
California Penal Code Section 288.7 sets penalties for specified sexual acts involving a child aged 10 or younger. An adult convicted of such conduct faces a mandatory state prison sentence of 15 years to life or 25 years to life, depending on the specific conduct, according to FindLaw. California law applies strict liability standards for sex offenses involving children 10 or younger, meaning prosecutors do not need to prove the defendant knew the victim's exact age.
Separately, under Penal Code Section 1203.065, anyone convicted of a Section 288.7 offense is statutorily ineligible for probation or a suspended sentence, per the same legal code. That provision eliminates judicial discretion to keep a convicted defendant out of state prison in cases of this severity, regardless of other mitigating factors a court might otherwise weigh.
A Record Label Moves Fast to Cut Ties
The fallout in the music industry arrived almost as quickly as the charges became public. Stones Throw Records, the Los Angeles label that has represented Tapia and Los Retros, posted an Instagram statement on October 15 acknowledging it had been notified of what it called “extremely serious and disturbing allegations” and confirming it was actively severing ties with Tapia and his work, according to Paste Magazine.
USA Today reported that Stones Throw had already pulled Los Retros from the lineup of Stones Throw 30, a three-day festival at the Lodge Room in Los Angeles's Highland Park neighborhood. The festival runs October 16 through 18, and the label had removed the booking before fully learning the extent of the allegations against its artist, per Paste's reporting.
From a Four-Track Tape Recorder to Festival Stages
Tapia founded Los Retros in 2016 and built an early following with a home-recorded sound. “Someone to Spend Time With,” along with “Amtrak,” helped grow the project's popularity, per USA Today.
Tapia released a self-released debut LP. The project's reach only grew from there: Los Retros currently has roughly 2.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify as of this week, per USA Today's reporting, and the act performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio in April and at Lollapalooza in Chicago in August, according to Stones Throw Records.
What Happens Next
Tapia is scheduled to return to court on October 22. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate the case.
