A 34 year old San Fernando man has been arrested, accused of having an ongoing sexual relationship with a 13 year old from Landers. Sheriff’s Detective Shelby Swanson said on April 12, 2022, deputies responded to the report of a runaway juvenile from Landers. Family members believed the 13-year-old juvenile was with the 34-year-old suspect, Daniel Chinchilla, who they discovered had an online relationship with the juvenile. At about 2:30am the juvenile was found by deputies near the Landers residence while Chinchilla was seen leaving. Deputies detained Chinchilla, the susequent investigation revealed Chinchilla began communicating with the juvenile through social media in the fall of 2021 and started a sexual relationship with the juvenile. Chinchilla lived in the San Fernando Valley and drove to the Morongo Basin to meet and have sex with the juveinile. At the conclusion of the investigation, Chinchilla was arrested and booked into the Morongo Basin jail for investigation of four charges related to his sexual abuse of the juvenile victim. Chinchilla’s bail was set at $350,000 and the investigation is still ongoing. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is urged to contact Detective Shelby Swanson from the Morongo Basin Station at (760) 366-4175.
