|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Atherton police arrested two men accused of arranging to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex following an undercover sting operation.
Officers arrested two San Mateo residents on suspicion of attempting to meet the teen for lewd acts on March 31, the Atherton Police Department announced. They were identified as San Mateo residents Inri Aguilar and Luis Zamorarosales, both 25.
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Aguilar first connected with the girl online and began messaging her. Aguilar allegedly tried to arrange to meet the girl for sex even after she told him her age, according to Wagstaffe. The teen became nervous and told her parents, who contacted the police.
Atherton detectives reviewed the messages on the girl’s phone and, posing as her to communicate with Aguilar, a meeting was arranged in the town.
Aguilar allegedly said he wanted the girl to bring another minor female for his friend, according to Wagstaffe.
Police arranged for the meeting to take place in front of an unoccupied home. When Aguilar arrived, officers arrested him and Zamorarosales, who was a passenger in the car, and seized their phones.
“In Atherton, this doesn’t come across their desk often, and the detectives worked really hard. They did the right steps so we can go and aggressively prosecute it,” Wagstaffe said.
Aguilar and Zamorarosales were both charged on April 2 with meeting a minor for lewd purposes and attempted unlawful intercourse, both felonies. Aguilar faces additional charges of felony contact with a minor for sexual purposes and an enhancement for being on felony probation at the time of the alleged crime.
Wagstaffe said he hopes the case serves as a warning to parents and to predators.
“If you do this in San Mateo County, you are going to get caught,” Wagstaffe said.
According to the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children task force, police departments could arrest someone for trying to commit sexual crimes online against children every day of the week, Wagstaffe said.
“All we can do is try to convict them, hopefully convince the court for good punishment, and then get the word out,” Wagstaffe said.
During their April 2 arraignment, both defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges. They remain in custody, with Aguilar’s bail set at $100,000 and Zamorarosales’ at $50,000. Judge Michael Wendler denied Zamorarosales’ request to be released without bail, finding he posed a danger to the public. Both men were ordered not to contact the victim.
Their next hearing is scheduled for April 8 at San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City.
Court records show Aguilar was on felony parole for a 2024 case in which he pleaded no contest to one count of felony assault by means likely to cause significant injury. As part of a plea deal, he was sentenced on Dec. 6, 2024, to five months in jail and two years of supervised probation. Aguilar failed to surrender to the jail, and his sentence was doubled on March 25, 2025, after he admitted to violating the plea agreement.
