Tinder user sends woman unsolicited video of child sex abuse in CA, feds say
A California man faces at least 15 years in federal prison after prosecutors said he sent an unsolicited video of an adult sexually abusing a young girl for 17 seconds to a woman he met on the dating app Tinder.
Ricardo Gutierrez, 28, first sent her a photo of a different girl, estimated to be around 6- to 8-years-old, with “three face with hand over mouth iMessage emojis,” and asked whether she had “little girls” as neighbors or nieces, according to prosecutors.
“I need a girl…Young girl…,” Gutierrez is accused of writing to the woman.
She reported Gutierrez to law enforcement, leading authorities to uncover his involvement in sexually exploiting children, prosecutors said.
An investigation revealed that in April 2024, about a month before meeting the woman over Tinder, Gutierrez sexually exploited four young children, including a toddler, in two videos he filmed in Tehama County, about a 130-mile drive northwest from Sacramento, according to court documents.
“Gutierrez screen recorded himself and the child victims on video through Facebook Messenger,” prosecutors said.
Now, Gutierrez, of Red Bluff in Tehama County, has pleaded guilty to one count of child sexual exploitation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California said in a June 6 news release.
His court-appointed federal public defender, Douglas J. Beevers, didn’t immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment June 9.
Gutierrez was found with more than 4,800 images of adults sexually abusing children, as well as children engaged in sex acts with other children, on his phone, according to prosecutors.
Between November 2023 and July 2024, prosecutors said he shared child sexual abuse content over three messaging platforms: iMessage, Telegram and WhatsApp.
In a separate case involving Telegram and child exploitation in Washington State, federal prosecutors announced on June 2 that a man, described as a “repeat violent sex offender,” was sentenced to 15 years in prison in connection with a Telegram group he ran to arrange “pedophilic relationships,” McClatchy News reported.
Alan Lewis Meirhofer, 72, was caught sharing child sexual abuse content over Telegram and trying to “set up” his adult friends, other registered sex offenders, with minors, according to prosecutors.
Telegram, with its “end-to-end encryption” feature, offers a certain level of privacy for text messages and video calls.
The platform’s CEO Pavel Durov was arrested by authorities in France in August in connection with alleged crimes facilitated over the app, including child sexual abuse material being exchanged among users, Axios reported.
As for Gutierrez, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison on one count of child sexual exploitation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He also faces a lifetime of supervised release, a restitution order and a $250,000 fine.
His sentencing is set for Sept. 12, prosecutors said.
Concerns or suspicions about child sexual exploitation can be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline online or by calling 1-800-843-5678.
This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 11:11 AM with the headline "Tinder user sends woman unsolicited video of child sex abuse in CA, feds say."
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