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Off-duty deputy catches serial sex offender
A Santa Clara County Sheriff's detective deputy, while off-duty, identified and helped arrest a wanted serial sex offender who was wanted for exposing himself to women and at least one child while riding VTA buses in the South Bay.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - A South Bay man accused of exposing himself to women riding VTA buses was arrested after an off-duty sheriff’s deputy spotted him by chance.
Deputy recognizes suspect off-duty
What we know:
Dennis Ojeda, 34, of Alviso, has been charged by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office with multiple counts of indecent exposure. Prosecutors said his alleged crimes began in March and included exposing himself to at least one minor.
Detective Deputy Rosilind Nguyen, an 18-year veteran of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, spotted Ojeda.
While off-duty last spring, she stopped at a traffic light in Santa Clara on her way to a movie date with friends when she noticed Ojeda, wearing the same clothing seen in surveillance footage, crossing the street. Coincidentally, she had been tracking him for three months.
"It doesn't matter where you are, what time of day it is, on-duty or off-duty, we're always watching, we're always observing," said Nguyen.
She followed him to the Santa Clara transit hub, called for backup, and made the arrest.
Pattern of crimes on VTA
Dig deeper:
Investigators said Ojeda first exposed himself on a VTA bus in March.
Surveillance video showed him boarding, sitting in the back, and then exposing himself and performing a solo sex act in front of a female passenger before fleeing on a bicycle.
Authorities said he repeated the crime twice more, including once in front of a minor, who reported the incident to a bus driver.
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Authorities said the suspect laughed when describing the alleged murder and described it as "honestly really fun."
"We are very, very, much proactive in making sure our passengers are safe while using our system from these types of incidents," said Aston Greene, VTA’s chief of safety and security.
VTA officials said they are making use of a new state law that allows transit agencies to permanently ban offenders from their systems.
"We have now been added to the list of transit agencies that can effectuate suspensions on our system for those types of behaviors that this individual was accused of," Greene said.
Ojeda pleaded not guilty on Aug. 5 to three counts of indecent exposure. He is scheduled to return to court Dec. 2 for a pretrial conference.
Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay Bureau. Follow him on the Instagram platform, @jessegontv and on Facebook, @JesseKTVU.
The Source: Information for this report is a compilation of information from multiple sources, including the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.