On January 3, 2024, Idaho County Dispatch received a call from a detective from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office in California.
The detective advised they had contact with a 16-year-old juvenile. She had been signed a runaway in August of 2023. The juvenile had contacted family and was wanting to return home. The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office pinged her phone and it showed she was in the Kamiah, Idaho area.
Idaho County Deputies responded to the location and located a male subject and the juvenile female in a trailer outside of a residence. The juvenile was taken into protective custody, and the adult male was arrested.
Cristian Ceja, age 27, of Turlock, California was arrested on a felony warrant out of California for contacting a minor for sexual gratification, contacting a minor using an electronic device for the purpose of sexual gratification, and oral copulation of a minor. He was also charged with misdemeanor providing shelter to a runaway, misdemeanor possession of marijuana, and misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia. Additional charges may be pending out of both Idaho County and California.
