SANTA BARBARA, CA – Armando Segoviano, age 46, of Santa Barbara, was arrested for committing a lewd act upon a child age 14 or 15 years of age by a person at least 10 years older, a felony.
The victim in this case is a developmentally disabled 15-year old girl with the mentality of a 6-year old.
The victim and suspect in this case are acquaintances; Segoviano sells tamales outside of the church attended by the victim and her family. On the evening of August 23, 2012, following a church service, Segoviano met the victim outside of her residence and embraced her, kissing her and fondling one of her intimate parts over her clothing before starting to lead her toward a darkened parking lot.
This activity was noticed by the victim's parents, who were inside of their home and who went outside and stopped it. The victim's parents initially thought Segoviano was a teenager given his small stature, however upon contacting him realized that he was the tamale vendor from outside of their church. They subsequently called the police.
Following an investigation which included a sexual assault child forensic interview of the victim by a psychologist, SBPD Crimes Against Persons Detective Charlie Katsapis arrested Segoviano on September 5, 2012. When interviewed Segoviano admitted to the crime.
Segoviano was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on the aforementioned charge with a bail amount of $100,000.00.
