To Catch A Predator Update: Laguna Beach

    

 The Laguna Beach sting operation has earned star status in the "To Catch A Predator" community because of the volume of men who showed up (13 in 11 hours, which would have broken the Riverside record had it been carried out for a full 3 days) and because of 2 names who surfaced: Hoi Chan and Keith Williams, who were previously arrested the month before in Riverside. They quickly pled guilty and received respective 3- and 1-year sentences and lifetime RSO status. Chan was also deported. However, it also had quite a few sick characters in its own right.

     Benjamin Taul was a disgusting individual who solicited a minor decoy on teenspot.com and was, not surprisingly, found with child pornography. He was sentenced to a year in prison, probation until 2010, and lifetime RSO status. he lives in Yorba Linda.

     David Phuong Pham also had child porn, he had previously had a near-miss by trying to show up to the Riverside sting, and he showed up to the house with drugs. He pled guilty to 4 felonies and received 18 months in jail followed by lifetime RSO status. He lives in Artesia.

     Avrum Fried crossed state lines from Coos Bay, Oregon to rape a minor and received a federal conviction with 5 years in federal prison, $2,500 in fines, lifetime RSO status with restrictions on the internet and on minor contact, and extensive psychological evaluation and treatment. 

     Jonathan Reese thought that a pure, clean virgin would be "the best pleasure" and received 8 months in jail with probation until probation until 2013, and lifetime RSO status. He actually tried to claim that the PJ contributor was a bad parent as part of his defense at a jury trial, which obviously failed miserably.

     Robert Carlos Alarcia also had an outlandish trial, hiring a loud attorney who was rebuked when his client received 6 months in jail, probation until 2012, and lifetime RSO status. He lives in Los Angeles.

     Stephen Deck was a police officer who became one of the most notorious predators in the world. He was convicted in 2009 and spent a year in jail, expected to remain on probation until 2015. His conviction was overturned by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has in multiple cases shown its disdain for anything relating to justice, and he was taken off the sex offender registry. However, in December 2018, he was reconvicted of the same charge and sentenced to time served with lifetime sex offender registration; his case was featured in Perverted Justice's last entry before they went offline.

     Roberto Folgar was the worst type of predator, in my opinion. He was unable to make bail and spent a year in prison before pleading guilty and receiving time served, probation until 2009, and lifetime RSO status. He was revealed to have HIV, which would have been a death sentence for a real child, and had to undergo AIDS testing as part of his sentence.

     Ryan Arnell Mount was a fast mover who aggressively pursued a 12-year-old decoy. The last to show up and the first to enter a guilty plea, he received a year in jail, probation until 2011, and lifetime RSO status. He lives in Stockton.

     Benjamin McAlister was another fast mover whose time from start to arrest totalled 3 hours. He didn't say much, but he still earned a year in jail (which began 6 months after his conviction) with probation until 2011 and lifetime RSO status with dozens of restrictions. He lives in Los Angeles.

     Jimmy Miguel Varela, on the other hand, had a lengthy chat that lasted over a week. He received a year in prison and lifetime RSO status. He is currently listed as "incarcerated," but he has no subsequent felony convictions, which means he likely violated the terms of his release.

     John Inkyoo Yi received a year in prison, probation until 2011, and lifetime sex offender registration, with conditions like no contact with minors or internet use, for a daylong chat with the decoy. He most likely served longer than his sentence, as he was released in 2008. He lives in Garden Grove.

     Fernando Demition Garin was a methodic predator who only used other peoples' computers and wiped the hard drives clean every night. It was not enough, and he earned a year in jail, probation until 2011, and lifetime RSO status. Despite his frightening process of chatting, he is marked "unlikely to offend again" and lives in Santa Maria.

     Shih Hung Chuang got 6 months in jail, 3 years probation, and registration as a sex offender. He has likely been removed from the registry, as he lives in Hacienda Heights, California, and works as an inventor, initially mostly making jigsaw puzzles but as of late focusing on other areas.

     Deep Arora was the first predator to be tried in Orange County and his fate dissuaded others from taking his route: he received a year in prison with 3 years probation and lifetime sex offender registration. Those last two parts didn't matter, as he was deported from the United States.

     Their work, however, was not done. Scott Gene Fish was arrested in 2008 and pled guilty within a month. He received a sentence of 4 years in state prison and was released in 2011 after serving most of his time. He will be a registered sex offender for life, and he is currently reported as homeless in Orange County.