Merced man arrested on child sex abuse charges, police say

A Merced man accused of sexually assaulting a child was arrested Monday morning.

Merced police Lt. Emily Foster said Jose Lupian Ceja, 31, was arrested by detectives and booked into Merced County Jail following an investigation into sexual assault accusations.

Foster said police began investigating the accusations in December.

Ceja was booked on suspicion of felony aggravated sexual assault of a minor, oral copulation/sexual penetration 10-years-old or younger, oral copulation by force victim under 14 years and sodomy victim 10 years, according to jail records.

He remains in custody in lieu of $1.4 million bail.

“We don’t believe there’s any additional victims,” said Foster. “However, if there are we do encourage them to come forward.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Merced Police Department at 209-385-6905 and ask for Detective Alicia Gorman.