Officials stand outside Booth’s resident on the night of his arrest. Photo by Jason Ruiz.
Video evidence has come to light showing Long Beach resident Ryan Michael Booth—currently being held by authorities on 31 counts of sexual abuse of a child under 10—sexually abusing a young girl, according to Orange County District Attorney Richard Anthony Zimmer.
The 23-year-old was arrested without incident Friday at his home on the 2800 block of Rutgers Avenue in East Long Beach, after Los Angeles Police Department detectives investigated a lead involving internet postings of a person soliciting child pornography. Booth was soon after discovered to be a contact offender.
Investigators have obtained at least four home videos showing Booth sexually abusing a Costa Mesa girl under the age of 10, said Zimmer. All the videos took place in late August with the same victim and thus far, no other victims have been identified. Investigators also found more than 600 child pornography images in Booth’s possession, Zimmer said.
The charges, according to Orange County Court documents, include three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child – oral copulation with force/fear; 16 counts of oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child 10 years of age or younger; eight counts of using an underage person for obscene matter; one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child with a foreign object; one count of a lewd or lascivious act with a minor; one count of possession/control of child pornography; and one count of sexual exploitation of a child.
Booth’s charges stem from incidents that took place between April 2013 and August 2014.
Booth was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday but the arraignment was postponed until October 3 at the West Justice Center in Westminster to allow him adequate time to find a lawyer, Zimmer said.
He is being held on $1M bail.
The case is still being investigated. Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Lieutenant Andrea Grossman at 562-624-4027. Anonymous tips may also be submitted by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or visiting www.lapdonline.org.