Santa Barbaran Carlos Arturo Gomez, 60, pleaded not guilty to multiple felony and misdemeanor child-exploitation charges on Wednesday, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office announced today.
According to court documents, Gomez has been charged with four felonies — possession of child pornography, using a minor for sex acts, unlawful contact with a child with intent to commit a sexual crime, and sending harmful matter to a child — and five misdemeanor counts of child molestation.
The four felony charges stem from crimes committed between February 9 and September 27 of this year and all involve the same underage victim (“Jane Doe 1” in the criminal complaint), who turned 16 years old in June. According to the complaint, Gomez solicited the teen to perform sex acts, making a recording of them that he kept in his possession, and also sent the minor a picture of his penis.
The five misdemeanor counts of molestation involve five other Jane Does, all under the age of 18. According to the criminal complaint, the first victim was molested in February on her 15th birthday. Gomez then allegedly went on to molest two other victims, ages 15 and 16, a couple of days later, on February 29. He then allegedly molested two more victims, also ages 15 and 16, on March 11, the complaint states.
The DA’s Office said that its Victim Witness Services and Santa Barbara Police detectives will be directly contacting the victims identified during the investigation, as well as their parents.
Gomez was arraigned in Santa Barbara Superior Court on November 27. A preliminary hearing is set for January 6, 2025. He remains out on bail.
