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Courts & Crime

Santa Barbara Teaching Assistant Arrested for Soliciting Lewd Acts with Minor

Adam Escarcega, 34, was apprehended following a sting operation by a Southern California vigilante group.

Santa Barbara Teaching Assistant Arrested for Soliciting Lewd Acts with Minor

Adam Escarcega, a teaching assistant at Adams Elementary School, was arrested this week on felony charges of soliciting lewd acts with a minor.

He was taken into custody following tips from a Southern California citizen group that “decoys, confronts, and exposes online child predators,” said the organization's leader, who goes by the alias "Ghost", in an interview. “Our most recent exposure took place in Goleta on Monday.”

Escarcega, 34, has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, said Santa Barbara Unified School District spokesperson Sandra Trujillo.

Adam Escarcega