Soledad police use Facebook Messenger to catch child molestation suspect

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Former Soledad resident Ramon Rangel Mendoza has been sentenced to prison for charges related to child molestation after detectives used Facebook Messenger to get him to talk about what happened.

Mendoza pleaded no contest to three felony charges of lewd and and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 involving force or duress.

The Monterey County District Attorney's Office said a 14-year-old girl told her mother in December 2019 that Mendoza, who was a family friend and former roommate, molested her when she was between the ages of 7 and 9.

When it was reported to police, the victim told them he forced her to engage in sex acts more than a dozen times over the course of two years and was able to talk about multiple incidents that happened in Soledad between 2012 and 2015.

The victim's family helped Det. Gustavo Gomez create a Facebook account for the victim and connect with Mendoza over Facebook Messenger. While they pretended to be the victim, investigators said Mendoza admitted to molesting her over the course of several days and provided details about how he did it and how much he missed it. At one point, investigators said Mendoza told them, "I wish I could have you as a small child again."

Mendoza later agreed the victim at a Paso Robles hotel for a sexual encounter at the end of the conversation with law enforcement, and he was arrested in Coachella in January 2020.

Mendoza will be required to register as a sex offender for life. He will be eligible for elder parole after serving 20 years of his prison sentence.