Registered sex offender pleads not guilty to sex with 15-year-old F.V. girl he met online

A registered sex offender has pleaded not guilty to six felony counts of lewd acts on a child in connection with allegations that he posed as an 18-year-old in an online chat room and arranged meetings for sex with a 15-year-old Fountain Valley girl, court records show.

Ohad Kyle Benabou, 26, of Westminster is a sex-offender registrant for a previous conviction for indecent exposure and is on formal probation in Orange County, authorities said.

Authorities allege that Benabou, who is listed in jail records as a mechanic, contacted the girl online while posing as a local high school student. After he initiated a sexual conversation with the teen, police said, Benabou arranged to meet her for sex on three occasions between Feb. 10 and Feb. 22, according to court records.

On Feb. 24, police and county probation officers arrested Benabou in Long Beach. He was arraigned last week, records show.

Benabou was booked into Orange County Jail with bail set at $265,000 and is scheduled back in court March 23.

On Aug. 22, Benabou pleaded guilty to one count of indecent exposure related to a 2018 incident and was sentenced to three years of formal probation, court records show.

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