Livingston man arrested for alleged child sex abuse, Sheriff’s Office says

A Livingston man has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a child, according to the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.

According to Sgt. Sam Becerra, 43-year-old Ramon Picenoortiz was arrested at his place of work in the 1000 block of Lander Avenue in Hilmar on Wednesday, at about noon.

Becerra said that around August 2018 patrol deputies responded to a home in Delhi to investigate allegations of abuse. After deputies determined sexual abuse had occurred years prior, the case was sent on to detectives who began investigating the allegations in September 2018.

In October of 2018, a warrant was issued for Picenoortiz’s arrest. After speaking with family members, it was believed that the suspect may have fled to Mexico, according to Bacerra.

Becerra said the abuse is alleged to have occurred in Delhi in 2013 and involved a girl who was about 10-years-old at the time. Authorities said the girl is now 16. According to Bacerra, the abuse is alleged to have occurred over the course of about a year, during which time the suspect is said to have been in a relationship with the girl’s mother.

According to Becerra, authorities recently received information Picenoortiz may have returned to the area. After speaking with various people and following up on tips, authorities located him and took him into custody.

According to jail records, Picenoortiz was booked into the Merced County Jail on suspicion of continuous sexual abuse of a child, distribution or exhibition of lewd material sent with intent to seduce a minor, contact of minor with intent to commit sexual offense and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under 16 years of age.

Picenoortiz is being held at the John Latoracca Correctional Center in lieu of $500,000 bail, accordion to jail records.

This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 6:55 PM.