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YouTube Star Tried To Coerce 12-Year-Old Girl Into Sex, Say Police
A teenage skateboarding star has been arrested, along with his manager and another skater, for allegedly trying to coerce a 12-year-old girl into sex. Steven Fernandez, 15, of Compton—who goes by the nickname "Baby Scumbag"—is a YouTube skateboarding star, with plenty of Instagram and Twitter followers. Police say that Fernandez tried to coerce a 12-year-old girl into sex acts with him and his adult manager and colleague by telling her that he would introduce her to various celebrities and put her in his MTV special, which according to police, is "nonexistent," KTLA reports.
The girl told police on November 13 that Fernandez beckoned her to come over to a car on Ventura Blvd. in Encino. Fernandez's manager, 22-year-old Jose Barajes, was behind the wheel at the time.
Fernandez allegedly asked the girl to perform sex acts with him, Barajes and 27-year-old professional skateboarder Keelan Lamar Dadd.
Detectives arrested Fernandez and Barajes on November 17 after conducting a sting operation in which they sent a text message to Fernandez, pretending to be the girl and inviting the men to an abandoned house for sex. Dadd turned himself in on December 3.
Detective Ninette Toosbuy of the West Valley Detective Division said that they released Fernandez's name, even though he is a minor, because state law allows "such exceptions in cases where the perpetrator sexually targeted minors," according to a release from the LAPD.
"Fernandez and his buddies used his fame and brand to sexually exploit the very girls who made the men rich and famous. We're taking exceptional measures to find additional victims because the fate of some young lives may be at stake," Toosbuy said.
All three were booked on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14. Barajes and Dadd have bailed out, and Fernandez has been released with an ankle monitor into his mother's custody.
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While police referred to Fernandez as the "prime mover" in the plot, an attorney representing Fernandez told TMZ that Fernandez was used by Barajes and Dadd and that he was also a victim.
Fernandez has been featured in videos online where he can be seen harassing women: catcalling women from his car, plopping down uninvited next to women at cafes and calling them "boo" while hassling them for their phone numbers. In one instance, he harasses a jogger until she screams at him to "f*ck off." In another instance, he tells a woman he'd been staring at her face for 30 or 40 minutes.
Police say the trio trolled the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood and Compton for young girls, and are asking that any other girls who may have been approached by the men contact police. Anyone with information can call Detective Toosbuy at 818-374-7718 or make an anonymous tip to 800-222-8477 or via LAPDOnline.org.
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