Ventura County Sheriff Department – Incident Press Release
In December of 2018, the City of Thousand Oaks Police Department received a child molestation report from Mountlake Terrace Police Department in the state of Washington. The report detailed sexual abuse that had occurred in the City of Thousand Oaks in either 2004 or 2005 when the victims were between the ages of 10 to 14 years old. The report listed Jose Eduardo Monarca as the suspect.
In May of 2019, while the Sexual Assault Unit was investigating the case, additional sexual assaults were reported in Thousand Oaks involving 4-year-old and 10-year-old victims and the same suspect. Between the years of 2014 and 2019, Monarca had been sexually molesting two victims who were still living in the city of Thousand Oaks. This investigation led to Monarca’s arrest. He has been charged with one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, five counts of penetration by a foreign object, four counts of lewd acts with a child under 14 years old, one count of oral copulation with a child over 14 years old, lewd acts with a child by force, and lewd acts with a child over 14 years old. Monarca is currently in custody at the Ventura County Todd Road Jail pending trial, with bail set at $450,000. Monarca is scheduled to appear in court on July 31, 2019 at 1:30 PM for an Early Disposition Hearing.
On July 9, 2019, the Sexual Assault Unit concluded their investigation from the Mountlake Police Department and arrested Monarca for additional sexual assault charges that included two counts of lewd acts upon a child, oral copulation of a child under 14 years old, and continuous sexual abuse of a child. Monarca is scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on July 11, 2019 at 1:30 PM for arraignment on this new case.
The investigations revealed Monarca was renting a room and living with the victims’ families. Detectives learned Monarca arrived in the United States from El Salvador in 1995 or 1996 and began living with the first victim’s family. Monarca lived with this family until the year 2000, and again briefly in either 2007 or 2008. Investigators do not know where Monarca lived from the year 2000 to 2013. Most recently, Monarca was living with the victims who reported the sexual abuse in May of 2019. There is an approximate 13 year gap where detectives do not know where Monarca was living. Investigators are seeking the public’s help in determining where Monarca lived between 2000 and 2013 and are concerned there may be additional victims who were assaulted by Monarca.
Monarca was living with primarily Spanish speaking families who were immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. He also regularly attended the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Newbury Park. If you have any information that may assist with the investigation please contact Detective Meagan Yates at 805-371-8397 or Detective Nora Soler (Spanish) at 805-371-8309.
Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
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