A Sierra Vista man, Jay Joseph Cruz Santos, was arrested on Monday night after he attempted to pick up a 16-year-old juvenile for sex.
An Sierra Vista Police Department (SVPD) officer responded to a suspicious circumstances call on Golf Links Road on Monday, Sept. 18, after a resident reported his 16-year-old daughter was attempting to exit the residence in the middle of the night. A review of the 16-year-old’s messages showed she had been communicating with the 35-year-old Santos and they had exchanged illicit images.
The resident provided law enforcement with the phone and police were able to identify Santos through his online photos and screen name. Detectives continued the communication with Santos, who continued to request illicit images and send illicit images he claimed were of another juvenile. Santos requested to meet later that evening to engage in sexual intercourse.
Santos was arrested at the Mall at Sierra Vista at 7:44 p.m. on Monday without incident when he arrived to pick up who he thought was the 16-year-old girl he had been communicating with online. He was booked into the Cochise County Jail for sexual exploitation of a minor, aggravated luring of a minor, and luring a minor.
Santos is being held in the Cochise County Jail.