Defendant drove from Paso Robles to San Luis Obispo to meet someone he believed was 15, according to District Attorney’s Office
– A San Luis Obispo County jury on Wednesday, Oct. 14, convicted Genaro Santana Avalos, 42, on all four counts after a seven-day trial, according to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office.
Jurors began deliberating Oct. 13 and returned their verdicts at 4:01 p.m. Oct. 14. Santana Avalos was found guilty of contacting a minor with intent to commit a sexual offense and arranging and going to a meeting with a minor for lewd purposes, both felonies, and of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors. The offenses occurred Dec. 12, 2024.
The case stemmed from a multi-agency operation by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau that targets adults who seek minors online for sex. According to the District Attorney’s Office, a detective posing as a teenage girl was contacted by Santana Avalos, then 40, on a dating website. The decoy told him she was 15, and he continued messaging, asked when her mother would return from work, and said he would drive to meet her.
Santana Avalos drove from Paso Robles to a San Luis Obispo park, sending arrival updates along the way, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Detectives arrested him in the parking lot at about 9:47 p.m. and found methamphetamine and a pipe on him. A forensic examination of his phone confirmed the messages and saved directions from Paso Robles to the park, prosecutors said.
Santana Avalos remains out of custody on bail. He is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, Nov. 19, in Department 6 of San Luis Obispo County Superior Court before Judge Michael S. Frye. He faces a maximum of five years and six months in state prison and must register as a sex offender. He waived a jury on aggravating factors, which the judge will decide.
District Attorney Dan Dow said, “Every child deserves to grow up safe from adults who would exploit them, and that includes online predators.” Dow urged parents to talk with their children about who they communicate with online and to report suspected exploitation right away.
Detective Kara Dickel led the investigation, assisted by Detectives Justin Francis and James Silverstein and Deputies Gower Slane and Kyle Reinhardt. Deputy District Attorney Sarah Merson of the office’s Sexual Assault Unit prosecuted the case.
Suspected online child exploitation can be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline or by calling (800) 843-5678, or to local law enforcement. In an emergency, call 911.
For more information, visit www.slocounty.ca.gov/da.
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The news staff of the Paso Robles Daily News wrote or edited this story from local contributors and press releases. The news staff can be reached at info@pasoroblesdailynews.com.
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