Lompoc man arrested in Goleta for multiple alleged sex crimes

A two-week long investigation led to the arrest of the Lompoc man on Tuesday, according to a Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office press release.

Benito Rodriguez Bravo, 34, reportedly created an advertisement where he attempted to recruit and hire women for nude housecleaning and erotic massages.

During the investigation, detectives with the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office posed a sixteen-year-old female while communicating with Bravo, who sent explicit images and attempted to recruit the minor to have sex with high paying customers.

Bravo promised payment of $5,000 a week and arranged a meeting in Goleta. He was reportedly arrested when he arrived at the location by detectives who were conducting surveillance of Bravo.

Detectives believe that Bravo was acting alone and was not only recruiting women to perform erotic massages and housecleaning but posing as the potential client from who he was communicating with. According to authorities, it appears Bravo had no intention of paying for any of the services he was planning to receive.

Bravo was booked in Santa Barbara County Jail on multiple felonies, including felony arranging a meeting with a minor, felony human trafficking of a minor, felony contacting a minor with intent for set, felony attempt to commit crime and felony pandering.

He also had an outstanding warrant for violation of probation and domestic violence, and is being held without bail.

The Sheriff’s Office is actively looking for additional victims related to this case. Anyone with information is asked to contact the the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department.

This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 12:47 PM.