Jonathan Ledesma, a Redlands area youth soccer coach, was arrested just after 4 a.m. Thursday morning when authorities located him in his vehicle with a 14-year-old girl.
Redlands Police Department officers first contacted Ledesma just after 4 a.m. while conducting an occupied vehicle check on Fairway Drive and Country Club Drive.The suspect informed the officers that the teenager was his girlfriend, and upon inspection they located evidence of sexual acts inside the vehicle.
They also investigated the suspect’s mobile device, where they located several text messages between Ledesma and the victim where they planned to meet up. It was then that the detectives determined that the victim was a minor upon interview. She disclosed that the two had engaged in sexual acts several times over the last two months, all in the backseat of the suspect’s vehicle parked in various locations around the city of Redlands.A San Bernardino County judge authorized a search warrant on the suspect’s vehicle, phone and person, as well as the victim’s phone and person, where they located additional evidence supporting the victim’s statement.
Ledesma initially met the victim when she was 9 years old, when he coached her through the Redlands AYSO organization, a local youth soccer league. Authorities believe that there may be other victims, as Ledesma had access to other children through his status as a coach in the league.Anyone with any additional information was asked to call Redlands Police Dispatch at 798-7681 Ext. 1