A 48-year-old Hollister man allegedly flew from California to
Rochester, N.Y., to have sex with a 13-year-old girl he met over
the Internet.
Ronald Sheridan is charged with raping the girl three times in a
Henrietta, N.Y., motel, where he allegedly took her after he picked
her up at a Rochester high school where she is a ninth-grader.
A 48-year-old Hollister man allegedly flew from California to Rochester, N.Y., to have sex with a 13-year-old girl he met over the Internet.
Ronald Sheridan is charged with raping the girl three times in a Henrietta, N.Y., motel, where he allegedly took her after he picked her up at a Rochester high school where she is a ninth-grader.
Sheridan faces three counts of second-degree rape and one count of disseminating indecent material to a minor. He is being held in the Monroe County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bond.
If indicted and convicted, he could face up to 21 years in prison.
Hollister police said they helped in the initial investigation.
“About a week ago, on the 8th, the FBI contacted us for an assist with a man who was arrested for sex with a minor,” said Capt. Bob Brooks of the HPD. “We assisted the FBI with a search warrant. They were looking to see if there’s any connection that he used the Internet to help commit this crime.”
“We’re not doing an investigation – the crime’s been committed in Rochester, but it was standard operating procedure for the FBI to contact us,” he said.
An FBI spokeswoman in San Jose, who is in charge of the investigation, did not return phone calls to the Free Lance.
The San Benito County Sheriff’s Department said Sheridan has no prior record and is not a registered sex offender.
Sheridan allegedly met the girl in June or July on an Internet instant messaging service, said Monroe County Assistant District Attorney Douglas A. Randall.
After sending the girl photos of himself, including some in which he was nude, Sheridan arranged to fly to Rochester on Sept. 4, according to reports.
Sheridan picked up the girl at her high school the next morning and took her to a hotel in nearby Henrietta, where they had sex, Randall said.
But he was arrested when the girl’s parents tracked her down and told sheriff’s deputies.
Although the girl was allegedly a willing participant, the charges allege that she was legally incapable of consensual sex because of her age.
Randall said the incident illustrates the ease with which children can become targets through the Internet.
It was not known at press time how long Sheridan has lived in Hollister or his occupation.
The Democrat and Chronicle newspaper contributed to this report.
