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Clown Charged With Sexually Assaulting Two Young Girls
(Photo by Paul Matthew Photography via Shutterstock)
A clown has been charged with sexually assaulting two young girls in Orange County. Prior to his arrest, Gualberto Torres-Vargas, 37, of Huntington Beach worked as a children's clown on the weekends. He's been charged with three felony counts of sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child 10 years or younger, five felony counts of oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child 10 years or younger and two felony counts of committing a lewd at upon a child under the age of 14, KTLA reports. If convicted as charged, Torres-Vargas faces 175 years in prison.
Torres-Vargas was first charged on Nov. 23 with five different felony counts related to the assault of a 9-year-old girl in early November. This victim told her mother about the alleged assault, and the girl's mother called the Huntington Beach Police Department. On Thursday, additional charges were added in connection to the assault of a 5-year-old girl.
Authorities say that though Torres-Vargas interacted with children through his work as a clown, that is not how he met the two girls he is accused of assaulting.
Investigators are concerned there may be other victims. A booking photo has not been released, but the OC District Attorney's Office plans to to release one later today, according to the OC Register. Anyone with information can call Supervisor District Attorney Investigator Mark Gutierrez at (714) 347-8794.
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