Concord Man Sentenced For Trying To Meet '14-Year-Old Boy': DA

CONCORD, CA — A Concord man pleaded guilty last week for attempting to meet with whom he thought was a 14-year-old boy for lewd acts, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office said.

Manuel Gomez-Antonio, 39, entered a plea agreement and was convicted of child sex trafficking and arranging a meeting with a minor for lewd purposes in a case that resulted from a January 2019 joint enforcement operation by Contra Costa's Human Trafficking and Internet Crimes Against Children task forces, the DA's Office said.

Using an online dating application, Gomez-Antonio offered to pay whom he believed to be a 14-year-old boy to perform a sex act in a Concord park, prosecutors said.

The "boy" was an undercover police officer, and Gomez-Antonio was arrested by officers when he drove to the pre-arranged meeting location by the tennis courts in the park, prosecutors said.

Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Leslie Landau accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Gomez-Antonio to one year in county jail and three years of probation.

Under the terms of his probation, Gomez-Antonio cannot come within 100 yards of the Concord park where he arranged the meeting, nor he is not allowed to use any online dating apps. Further, authorities are allowed to search and seize his cellphone and any other digital devices he may own.

The case against Gomez-Antonio was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Nichelle Holmes of the DA's Office Human Trafficking Unit.

The investigation was conducted by the multi-agency Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is managed by the San Jose Police Department. Those who participate in the task force in Contra Costa County include detectives and investigators from the Walnut Creek, Martinez, San Ramon, Danville, Pleasant Hill, Concord and Moraga police departments, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S.Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Contra Costa County Probation Department, and inspectors from the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

The Human Trafficking Task Force is a multi-agency state, federal and local task force that enhances collaborative efforts with victim service providers to investigate and prosecute all forms of trafficking in our community.

A priority of both task forces is the safety of children from online predators.