A Yucca Valley man has been arrested, accused of trying to meet with a minor for sex. According to a press release, on December 15, 2021, Sheriff deputies were contacted by a community watch group called The Creep Catching Unit (CC Unit). The organization sets up fake profiles of young children (the decoy) in the hopes of being contacted by pedophiles. In these operations, the worker who contacted a suspect on the decoy profile would inform the suspect of their age, telling them they were a young juvenile. The CC Unit would then arrange to meet the suspect in person. Upon arriving at the meeting location, they would live stream the confrontation with the suspect onto YouTube.
On December 15, the CC Unit contacted the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station and advised they were meeting a target. A CC Unit worker was contacted by a suspect named Leo Huerta, 40, on the decoy profile. The decoy profile was of an 11-year-old female from Yucca Valley. Huerta allegedly agreed to meet the decoy to have sex in Yucca Valley. Huerta was confronted by the CC Unit and fled the location prior to deputies arrival. Detectives at the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station conducted an investigation and authored a warrant for Huerta’s arrest.
On Thursday (January 6) Huerta was arrested on the warrant and reportedly interviewed at the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station. Upon conclusion of the interview, Leo Huerta was arrested for investigation of meeting with a minor for a lewd purpose and is being held at West Valley Detention Center with bail set at $150,000.
Deputies believe there may be other unidentified victims linked to Huerta and are asking that anyone with information relating to this investigation to please contact Detective Swanson at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Morongo Basin Station at (760)366-4175. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may contact We-Tip at 1-888-78-CRIME.
