Case against child molester continues to grow

Sheriff’s detectives have found three more young molestation victims in the Fallbrook area as they continue to build their case against an alleged child molester that may have victimized females for over a decade.

Enrique Lopez Torres was arrested September 10 on charges of lewd acts with a child, possessing child pornography and false imprisonment after he made sexual advances on several young girls in the apartment complex he managed on Clemmens Lane.

It appears Torres used his position as apartment complex manager to pressure tenants into silence when he made advances.

“[Torres] would threaten to evict tenants or threaten to deport them if they complained about his rude and suggestive comments,” said Sheriff’s Department investigating detective Dan Laibach. “Torres would tell single women in the complex how pretty they were, that he would take care of them, and make comments about their sexual organs.”

Torres would also threaten to use his supposed “Los Angeles mafia connections” to keep people quiet as well, authorities said. “People were afraid of him,” said Laibach.

Sheriff’s detectives became aware of the situation after Torres allegedly grabbed an 11-year-old girl on September 9 and wouldn’t let go of her hand until witnesses arrived at the scene and the girl was able to run onto the school bus.

It was initially believed that Torres had made sexual advances on at least five girls from the complex.

Upon searching Torres’ home, Polaroid photographs of several girls under the age of 15 performing sex acts with Torres were found in his bedroom. Laibach also discovered cell phone pictures of three more victims under the age of 10 performing sex acts with the man.

Laibach confirmed that the victims under 10 were from the Fallbrook area, but because the Polaroids appeared older, Laibach traveled to Downey to see if he could find out more information about those victims.

When interviewed, Torres’ family, who has not been in contact with him for several years, said Torres looked “at least 10 years younger” in the photographs shown and did not recognize the girls in the photographs.

Currently, Laibach said he is working on finding Torres’ ex-wife, with whom he had three sons, to see if she can identify any of the girls in the Polaroids. The woman, known as ‘Ana,’ has not been in communication with family members and is believed to be living in Perris.

The fact that she never kept in contact with family, and the way Torres never had any contact with his children, “may mean something is hidden there,” said Laibach.

The Sheriff’s Department is still analyzing Torres’ computer.

Torres’ readiness conference will occur at 8:30 a.m. on November 5 in Vista Superior Court.

Anyone with information that may be pertinent to this case is asked to call Detective Dan Laibach at (760) 451-3110.