Anaheim man arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a Santa Ana 12-year-old

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD Detectives Make An Arrest Of A Sexual Assault Suspect – Victim 12 Year-Old Female

Arrestee: Sean Rickard (21) Anaheim

On February 27, 2019, Santa Ana Police responded to a charter school where a 12-year-old student was reported to have been sexually assaulted by an adult male she met on the Tinder dating app. The victim posed as a 19-year-old female and met Sean Rickard, a 21-year-old resident of Anaheim. The victim and Rickard communicated for eight months before she disclosed her true age a few weeks ago. The victim did not attend school on Monday and was reported to have been picked up by Rickard and taken to a parking lot in Santa Ana where he sexually assaulted her.

Santa Ana Police Special Crimes detectives responded to investigate. After learning that Rickard communicated with the victim through Snapchat, detectives posed as the victim and began communicating with him.

Rickard believed he was communicating with the victim and sent a video of himself masturbating. He also agreed to meet the victim later that evening for the purposes of engaging in sexual activity. Detectives set up a sting operation and waited for Rickard as he parked behind a clothing store in Anaheim. Rickard was arrested and interviewed by detectives.

Suspect In Custody:

Rickard admitted to knowing the victim was 12-years-old and to picking her up from school and engaging in sex acts. Rickard also admitted to driving to the clothing store in order to meet the victim for the purposes of engaging in sex acts. Rickard was booked at the Orange County Jail for multiple counts of child abuse. His bail has been set at $100,000.00.

The Santa Ana Police Department would like to remind parents to closely monitor their child’s social media activity for any inappropriate content.

Santa Ana Police Department Detectives believe there may be additional victims and ask anyone with information to contact Detective Nick Vega at 714-245-8368, nvega@santa-ana.org or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.