Authorities were looking for additional potential victims of a children’s clown performer who allegedly sexually assaulted two girls under the age of 10, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
Gualberto Torres-Vargas, 37, has been charged with three felony counts of sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child 10 years old or younger, five felony counts of oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child 10 or younger, two felony counts of committing a lewd act upon a child under the age of 14, and a sentencing enhancement allegation for committing lewd acts upon multiple victims, a release from the DA’s office stated.
He was scheduled to be arraigned in a Santa Ana courtroom on Friday.
Torres-Vargas was initially charged on Nov. 23 with five felony counts in connection with the sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl, according to the release.
The allegations against Torres-Vargas included sexually penetrating and orally copulating the young victim between Nov. 1, 2014, and Nov. 9, 2015, prosecutors said.
The complaint was amended to include five additional charges Thursday after he was accused of sexually assaulting a second victim. The allegations included molesting and orally copulating the 5-year-old girl, according to the DA’s office.
An investigation into Torres-Vargas began after the first victim reported the crime to her mother, who then contacted the Huntington Beach Police Department, officials said in the release.
The defendant worked as a clown performer on the weekends at the time of the incidents, but authorities said he did not meet his victims through his work.
If convicted on the charges, Torres-Vargas could be sentenced to 175 years to life in state prison, according to the DA’s office.
Authorities were investigating whether the defendant had additional victims. Anyone with information was urged to call Supervising District Attorney Investigator Mark Gutierrez at 714-347-8794.
