A Santa Paula man accused of videotaping children changing in a bathroom pleaded not guilty to four felonies and six misdemeanors in Ventura County Superior Court on Aug. 26.
Francisco Muñoz, 48, was charged with three felony counts of using a minor for sex acts and one felony for possession or control of child pornography, court records show.
He was also charged with six misdemeanors, including three counts of using a concealed camera to secretly tape another while fully or partially undressed and three counts of child annoying.
Muñoz was arrested on Aug. 24 around 4:45 p.m. after officers with the Santa Paula Police Department were called to the apartment complex where he worked in the 200 block of North 8th Street, according to a Sept. 1 department
news release.
Investigators were informed that someone had allegedly been secretly filming minors who were changing in the apartment complex’s bathroom after swimming in the nearby pool, police said.
Detectives identified the man who was suspected of the crime as the 48-year-old complex employee, who had fled prior to police arriving, officials said.
After a coordinated search, police located Muñoz and arrested him later that afternoon.
He was booked into Ventura County jail with bail set at $150,000, records show. He is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 3.
Police officials said they believe there may be additional victims and are reviewing the secretly recorded videos to identify them. They have requested that persons who may believe they were a victim contact Detective Yvette Solis at 805-826-7512.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Santa Paula man pleads not guilty to charges related to recording kids
