By Redacción
[email protected]
The City of Oxnard has entered a partnership with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office to intensify efforts against Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC).
This three-year agreement, beginning July 1, 2024, commits a total of $494,544 to support the assignment of a dedicated investigator from the District Attorney’s Office to tackle these heinous crimes within Oxnard.
Under the terms of the agreement, the District Attorney’s Office will assign an investigator to focus on ICAC cases originating from Oxnard.
“The protection of our children is paramount. This model partnership with the City of Oxnard and the Oxnard Police Department will enhance our ability to investigate and prosecute those who exploit our most vulnerable residents,” said District Attorney Erik Nasarenko.
This initiative is designed to enhance the detection, investigation, and prosecution of internet-based child exploitation offenses.
The City of Oxnard will provide $160,000 in funding the first year, $164,800 in the second year, and $169,744 in the third year, which will partially offset the cost of the investigator’s salary and benefits.
ICAC cases often begin with a CyberTip, a notification originating from internet service providers, email providers, or wireless carriers.
These tips are forwarded to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which then directs them to local law enforcement for further action.
The number of CyberTips has surged nationwide, nearly doubling between 2019 and 2021, driven by factors such as increased internet access among children, improved detection technologies, and a shift in predator behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The district attorney investigators are well-equipped to handle these complex cases. The assigned investigator will work closely with the Oxnard Police Department to ensure thorough investigations and successful prosecutions.
“This agreement will enhance our ability to protect children in our community from those who would exploit and victimize them,” said Oxnard Police Chief Jason Benites.
“We are most appreciative of the partnership that our department has with the District Attorney’s Office in helping us keep our community safe from those who seek to harm others.”
The agreement outlines a comprehensive process for handling CyberTips, from initial receipt and evaluation to search warrants and arrests. The collaboration will also include community outreach and training programs to educate the public and law enforcement on the dangers of child exploitation and the signs to watch for.
UNITED WAY
Over 500 children are back on campus this summer for United Way of Santa Barbara County’s 2024 Fun in the Sun summer learning program. 
The program kicked off June 17th at 6 campuses from Guadalupe to Carpinteria, celebrating over 27 years of providing families with its national award-winning summer program that offers daily literacy and math practice, hands-on STEAM and enrichment activities, field trips, outdoor play and activities, and more.
The free, full-day program has become an important community resource for families throughout the county who may struggle to find accessible and enriching learning programs for students to keep up key literacy and social enrichment skills over the summer months.
“We depend on our partners to help us move the learning of students forward,” said Diana Rigby, Superintendent at Carpinteria Unified School District.
“Come fall, it is very clear which students have participated in Fun in the Sun, because those students are prepared to enter the next grade level with strong academic skills as well as really good social skills to be able to interact with their peers in appropriate ways in the classroom.”
“This is a special year for these students. The expansion happening this year represents decades of dedicated partners that have united through this program with a shared and inspiring focus on the next generation of our community,” said Frances Contreras, Director of Programs and Partnerships at United Way.
Since 1997, Fun in the Sun has provided thousands of Santa Barbara County students with an engaging and enriching learning environment for six weeks every summer, earning an award in 2012 from the National Summer Learning Association in recognition of its consistent achievement of academic outcomes for participants.
The program operates countywide, and provides individualized literacy and math instruction, daily meals and snacks, community field trips, hands on STEAM activities, swimming and biking lessons, social-emotional learning curriculum, and more.
The program also includes parent workshops and a Leaders-in-Training track for high-school students, offering leadership development, mentorship opportunities, and college and career exploration and campus visits.
“The expansion happening this year represents decades of dedicated partners that have united through this program with a shared and inspiring focus on the next generation of our community.”
OXYGEN COMPANY PUNISHED FOR FALSE ADVERTISING
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office leaded by Erik Nasarenko, announced that Boost Oxygen, LLC, a Connecticut-based company, entered a stipulated judgment and will pay $413,000 in penalties and investigative costs to settle a civil lawsuit brought by multiple district attorney’s offices, including Santa Barbara.
The lawsuit alleged violations of the California Unfair Competition Law, Business & Professions and the California False Advertising Law, Business & Professions, to deliberated boost sells of recreational oxygen canisters, online and in brick-and-mortar stores.
The company previously advertised that its products could alleviate physical ailments such as altitude sickness, Illness resulting from smoke inhalation or air pollution, allergies or allergic reactions and even to for someone’s ability to drive at night or long distances.
An investigation showed that many of Boost’s claims were false or unsupported by evidence.
“We are committed to ensuring that every company doing business with Ventura County residents is honest about its products and the limitations of those products,” District Attorney Nasarenko said.
The DA also said that false advertising of this nature not only harms consumers “but other businesses that are truthful in their advertising.”
The stipulated judgment, entered in the Ventura County Superior Court, requires Boost to pay $330,000 in civil penalties and $83,000 in costs, it also prohibits Boost from making claims that its product can treat or assist in the cure of the conditions already mentioned above.
Boost Oxygen cooperated with the investigation, which was conducted jointly by the Consumer Protection Units of the Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Monterey County District Attorney’s Offices.
BURGLARIES
Deputies in the Santa Ynez valley are investigating a series of restaurant burglaries that have occurred in recent weeks.
The first one was two weeks ago, when deputies took a report of a burglary at California Tacos in Buellton, then four days later deputies took a second report for a burglary at Taco Roco in Buellton.
On Wednesday, July 17, deputies took two additional reports of restaurant burglaries at the Red Barn and SY Kitchen and the fifth burglary was reported this Monday at AJ Spurs in Buellton.
“In each of these cases, suspects forced entry and targeted locations in the businesses where cash was kept. The amount of loss and list of items taken at each location is under investigation,” stated the Sheriff in a press release.
The authorities believe that there is more than one suspect associated with these crimes and are sharing a photo of one of the suspects that was captured during the burglary at SY Kitchen.
Deputies are asking anyone with information about these burglaries to contact the Solvang Sheriff’s substation at, 805.686.5000.
SBA AND SLO GET $5.5 Mil FOR EV BUSES
Last week Congressman Salud Carbajal announced almost $5.5 mil in new federal funding that will help the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transportation District (MTD) and San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority (RTA) purchase battery-electric buses and chargers.
“Putting zero-emission buses on the roads of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo will help keep our air clean, reduce our region’s carbon footprint, and improve public transit reliability by installing new buses to serve Central Coast residents,” said Rep. Carbajal.
The grant total $5,467,019, the Santa Barbara MTD is receiving $2,894,131 and San Luis RTA is receiving $2,572,888 in Federal Transit Administration funding made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the 2021 infrastructure package crafted and passed by Rep. Carbajal, his colleagues, and the Biden-Harris Administration last term.
“With nearly $1 billion already delivered for the Central Coast, this law is truly delivering once-in-a-generation investments that are raising the quality of life on the Central Coast,” said Carbajal.
Meanwhile U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also said that 117 communities across 47 states will be able to replace old buses running on dirty, expensive fuels by delivering modern and zero-emission buses, manufactured by American workers, that will connect more people to where they need to go.” said Secretary Buttigieg.
“We are excited to benefit from this FTA grant, which will help grow our zero-emission fleet that provides vital transit service to our community. This continues MTD’s decades-long commitment to clean and efficient public transportation on the South Coast,” said Jerry Estrada, Santa Barbara MTD General Manager.
