A 29-year-old San Mateo man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly soliciting sexual videos and photos from hundreds of teenage boys worldwide while posing as a teenage girl on social media, according to the San Mateo Police Department.
Wai Kit Ching, also known as Raymond Ching, was charged by the District Attorney’s Office with seven counts of child molestation, eight counts of solicitation of child molestation and one count of possession of child pornography. He faces a potential life sentence if convicted, said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Ching allegedly solicited videos and photos of the victims masturbating while posing as a 15-year-old girl named “Alicia Harris” on Instagram, according to police. Wagstaffe noted that convincing an underage victim to touch themselves online is considered child molestation in California even if there’s no physical contact.
The father of one of the victims — a resident of Eden Prairie in Minnesota — discovered the communications on his son’s Instagram account and called the police in late May. An investigation led detectives to determine Harris’ Instagram account originated in San Mateo and was in fact operated by Ching, who is a Chinese national, police said.
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On Tuesday, San Mateo detectives served a search warrant at Ching’s home on the 4300 block of Camden Avenue with the assistance of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations. Ching confessed to his crimes and was placed under arrest, police said.
During the investigation, detectives discovered Ching starting in 2018 requested sexual videos and photos on Instagram from hundreds of teenage boys worldwide, but mainly within the United States and Europe. Ching targeted white juvenile males between the ages of 12 and 15 with blonde or light brown hair, according to police.
Police said they also have reason to believe Ching, acting as his true self, invited a San Mateo juvenile male into his home sometime between December 2019 and January 2020.
Ching is in custody without bail. His next court date is Oct. 5.
Police are seeking additional victims. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact San Mateo police Detective Sgt. Lee Violett at (650) 522-7662 or lviolett@cityofsanmateo.org.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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