Sonoma County taekwondo instructor accused of lewd acts with youths
(Dylan Bouscher/MediaNews Group/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. - A taekwondo instructor has been accused of multiple sexual assaults involving children in Petaluma and Santa Rosa over at least two years, police said.
Suspect arrested on Saturday
Dig deeper:
Luis Menjivar Chicas, 48, was taken into custody Saturday on a warrant issued at the request of the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office following investigations by Santa Rosa and Petaluma police, authorities said.
Petaluma police said Santa Rosa police began investigating a report of a sexual assault of a juvenile in 2024 but couldn't assemble enough evidence to proceed with a criminal prosecution.
At least two additional victims reported sexual assaults over multiple years, Petaluma police said, citing Santa Rosa police.
Petaluma police said they began investigating in January after receiving a report of a sexual assault involving a 13-year-old.
In April, two other juveniles reported sexual assaults while Chicas was renting a room in their family residence, Petaluma police said.
Chicas was accused of lewd acts with children, assault with intent to commit a felony upon a juvenile, continual sexual abuse of a child under age 14, lewd acts with a child by force or fear, and lewd acts with a child under 14, police said.
He was arrested during a traffic stop and booked into the Sonoma County jail.
Bail was set at $250,000, police said.
What you can do:
Petaluma police asked anyone with direct knowledge of incidents to contact Detective Carlos Ramirez at 707-234-4540 or at cramirez@cityofpetaluma.org.
Information directly related to the Santa Rosa Police Department's investigation can be directed to 707-543-3595.
The Source: Information for this article came from the Petaluma Police Department.