A woman’s distress call to the San Luis Obispo Police Department about allegedly being raped by a man she knew led to law enforcement’s discovery of a massive amount of child pornography material.
On Oct. 24, she reported that she had been raped by an acquaintance named David Randall Quintero at an undisclosed address on Santa Barbara Street. The SLO Police Department Detective Bureau was already investigating Quintero for an unrelated case about child pornography possession.
According to a Dec. 11 SLO Police Department press release, detectives obtained search and arrest warrants over the course of both investigations, executing both on Nov. 21 at Quintero’s residence. The search uncovered evidence for forensic examination and more than 1,500 images of child sexual abuse material. Detectives then arrested the 36-year-old and booked him into SLO County Jail.
“It was around March of this year that we started receiving tips about him having child porn,” SLOPD Sgt. Trevor Shalhoob told New Times.
Shalhoob added that the Police Department received 25 cyber tips about Quintero through the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force.
The SLO County District Attorney’s Office charged him with the felonies of possessing child sexual abuse material and rape of an unconscious person. Quintero remains in custody with bail set for $400,000.
“A felony was committed in that David Randall Quintero did unlawfully commit an act of oral copulation upon Confidential Victim who was prevented from resisting by an intoxicating anesthetic and/or controlled substance and this condition was known, and reasonably should have been known by the defendant,” the DA’s Office complaint read.
The complaint also stated that Quintero intended to sell and distribute the child pornography material.
“It is further alleged that the matter contained more than 600 images and 10 more images involving a prepubescent minor and a minor who had not attained 12 years of age,” the complaint read.
Quintero has had other run-ins with the law. In 2019, he was charged with both a misdemeanor and a felony.
The three-pronged misdemeanor was related to resisting and obstructing a law enforcement officer, loitering about schools and public places as a registered sex offender, and staying in a building located at Morro Bay City Park without authorization.
His past felony involved failing to annually update registration as a sex offender within five days of his birthday. Quintero was also charged with possessing a controlled substance. Quintero’s registration is still missing from the California Sex Offender Registry.
Sgt. Shalhoob told New Times that the 2019 charges aren’t related to Quintero’s latest alleged crimes. His pre-preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 28, 2025. Δ
This article appears in Dec 19-29, 2024.