Bail set at $1M for man accused of rape, forced solicitation of minors


IN CUSTODY—Connor Kerns, 19, of Newbury Park is accused of multiple sex crimes that police say he perpetrated against underage girls, one under 14. Courtesy of VCSO

IN CUSTODY—Connor Kerns, 19, of Newbury Park is accused of multiple sex crimes that police say he perpetrated against underage girls, one under 14. Courtesy of VCSO

A Newbury Park man was being held on $1.1-million bail after he was charged with forcing two underage girls to engage in sex acts with him and threatening to leak nude photos and videos of them on the internet.

Connor Joseph Kerns, 19, was arrested June 20 at his home on Fallbrook Avenue. He’s been charged with 23 different felonies and special enhancements, including one count of rape, one count of forcible digital penetration, one count of forced oral copulation and two counts of causing, inducing or persuading a minor through duress to engage in a commercial sex act, according to court records.

Per the enhancements, one of Kerns’ alleged victims is under 14.

Attempts to reach his defense attorney for comment were unsuccessful.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said deputies in Ojai received a report in July 2021 from a girl who said she was tricked into sending nude photos/videos to an adult man over social media.

Police said Kerns offered to pay the girl for the initial photos but then blackmailed her to send him more by threatening to leak the images on the web. At that point, Kerns, then 18, posed as a “hacker” who obtained the girl’s images and threatened to “leak” them if she didn’t have sex with Kerns, the sheriff’s office said.

Eventually the girl agreed to meet with Kerns in return for him not releasing the photos and video; that’s when he raped her, police said.

During the investigation, sheriff’s detectives received information through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Kerns might be a suspect in two other cases with similar circumstances, one out of Los Angeles County and one in Tennessee, police said.

On June 20, detectives searched Kerns’ home in the 400 block of Fallbrook Avenue, finding evidence linking him to two of the underage girls, VCSO said.

Kerns has yet to enter a plea.

He’s due back in court to be arraigned July 6, the district attorney’s office said.

Acorn staff report