Long Beach physician accused of seeking lewd behavior with minor; additional victims sought: LAPD
04/12/2018 12:54 pm PDT
By Erika Martin, KTLA
LOS ANGELES -- (KTLA) -- Officials are asking additional victims to come forward after a resident physician in Long Beach was arrested on suspicion of engaging in improper communication with someone he thought was an teenage girl, police said Wednesday.
Jonathon Ellis, a 35-year-old Long Beach resident, was taken into custody after sending "harmful matter" to an undercover officer who was posing as a 16-year-old girl, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release.
Ellis allegedly contacted the officer on the internet and sent a sexually explicit photo to him or her.
Los Angeles police said he got his medical degree in Henderson, Nevada, and now works as a resident physician in Long Beach. However, neither the Medical Board of California nor Osteopathic Medical Board of California had a record for a license with the name Jonathon Ellis.
The 35-year-old was arrested Wednesday around 9 a.m. and was being held on $85,000 bail, inmate records show.
The L.A. County District Attorney's Office filed five charges against him, including four counts of sending harmful matter to a minor and one count of meeting with a minor to engage in lewd behavior, according to the Police Department.
Any victims who may have been hesitant to report similar crimes involving the physician should come forward, LAPD said.
Anyone with information can contact Officer Aaron Korth or Detective Sammy Cruz at 213-486-0910 during business hours, or use 877-527-3247 on nights and weekends.
Those who want to remain anonymous can submit a tip through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or www.lacrimestoppers.org.
FULL STORY: Long Beach Physician Accused of Seeking Lewd Behavior With Minor; Additional Victims Sought: LAPD - KTLA