Fugitive charged in California child sex crimes investigation – NBC Los Angeles

A 47-year-old man who went by the online name “ChrisLewd” was returned to Los Angeles on Monday to face federal charges after being arrested in Arizona earlier this month as part of an investigation by the Ventura County Child Exploitation Task Force.

Christopher Michael Loza was charged in the indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles with attempted enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual conduct and possession of child sexual abuse material. The suspect was returned to Los Angeles on Monday for his first court date after being arrested in Phoenix on Aug. 2. Authorities said he fled after failing to appear for arraignment in the case.

The two-count indictment, filed in January 2024, describes an undercover operation in which Loza is accused of contacting a person he believed to be a 15-year-old girl in an online chat room, according to an FBI press release. That person was actually an undercover agent.

Loza, who was living in Winnetka at the time, stated he wanted to “engage in sexual activity,” according to the FBI. In a text message, he asked the person if he could come to her home and if he should bring condoms, the indictment says. Loza drove to a park in Camarillo to meet the minor and had a USB drive containing child pornography, the indictment says.

Loza was originally arrested on state charges in Ventura County in August 2023 and then released on bail. He failed to appear for his arraignment on charges of communicating with a minor with the intent to commit sexual acts and soliciting a child for sexual acts.

On August 2, he was tracked down and taken into custody by Phoenix police after they discovered the outstanding warrant.

The trial date has been set for October 7. If convicted on all counts, Loza faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.