A drug bust in Moorpark led to a 22-year-old man being charged with sex crimes involving underage girls and possession of child pornography, authorities said Thursday.
Douglas Whitaker was being investigated by narcotics detectives with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office’s in August 2019 when authorities discovered evidence indicating he was sexually involved with victims who were minors, according to the agency.
He was freed on $50,000 bail following his arrest last week.
On Tuesday, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office charged him with two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, one count of oral copulation of a child under 18 and one count of possession or control of child pornography, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Whitaker was living in Moorpark when authorities served a search warrant at his home in connection with alleged drug dealing, leading to the discovery of an undisclosed amount of narcotics, authorities said. Whitaker was arrested on suspicion of drug charges.
After being booked into county’s Pre-Trial Detention Facility in Ventura, Whitaker was released on his own recognizance on Sept. 3. As the investigation into his drug case continued, detectives allegedly found evidence of sex crimes.
They served several search warrants and gathered evidence such as child pornography allegedly in his possession, which was seized by authorities. Investigators with the Thousand Oaks Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit assisted the case.
On Sept. 27, detectives arrived to Whitaker’s Thousand Oaks home located in the 3400 block of Trailview Court and arrested him on suspicion of multiple sex charges before booking him into the East Valley Jail.
He remains free on bail and his next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 10.
Detectives area sking any possible victims or anyone else with information to call Detective Megan 805-371-8397 or email megan.yates@ventura.org.
Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 800-222-8477 or visiting venturacountycrimestoppers.org.
