SANTA BARBARA, Calif., July 8 (Santa Barbara Times Online) — Santa Barbara County sheriff’s detectives arrested Edward “Eddie” Alessandro Zarate of Santa Maria on June 10 in an online-child-exploitation investigation that began May 28, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The department said Zarate, 20, was booked at the Northern Branch Jail on multiple felony charges after investigators said he communicated with minors online and later committed in-person lewd acts involving two female juvenile survivors. On June 18, the Sheriff’s Office asked for additional survivors or witnesses to come forward.
In a separate case, detectives said they began investigating Nathan Abruzzese of Ventura on April 8 after he allegedly contacted a detective posing as a 13-year-old girl online. He was arrested at his residence on April 22 and booked on felony charges, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The Sheriff’s Office also said detectives arrested Martin Luis Rojas of Goleta on April 28 in another internet-crimes-against-children investigation.
