Man posed as teenager to have vulgar chats with girls on TikTok app, authorities say

Authorities are looking for girls who chatted with a 35-year-old man posing as a 13-year-old boy online using TikTok, a messaging app popular among young teenagers, officials said.

James Anthony Gonzales was arrested on suspicion of committing lewd acts on children and is being held on $100,000 bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Investigators suspect Gonzales of initiating “sexual and vulgar” conversations with at least 21 girls — some as young as 9 years old — late last year. When he was arrested last week, authorities found child pornography on his cellphone.

In one case, Gonzales learned a 9-year-old girl’s address and showed up at her door — unannounced — posing as a delivery driver, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Authorities linked Gonzales to following usernames and platforms:

• Tiktok.com usernames: Lanzo, lanzostiles, lanzostiles4322, lanzostiles77; profile names: “In the 310 lets go” and “soul0072.”
• Meetme.com: Lanzo Stiles
• Gmail: yamakisaki@gmail.com
• Snapchat: lanzostiles
• Instagram: yamakisaki

Gonzales is due in court later this month.

Investigators urged parents who suspect their child has been in contact with Gonzales to call the agency’s Human Trafficking Bureau at (323) 526-5155.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek