CA - Alleged child molester at large since June arrested in Long Beach

By Tracy Manzer Staff Writer
Posted: 11/13/2012 05:51:44 PM PST
Updated: 11/13/2012 07:29:58 PM PST
Contra Costa Times

LONG BEACH -- A fugitive wanted on outstanding charges of child molestation was arrested by a team of law enforcement officers last week led by the U.S. Marshals Service, authorities announced Tuesday.

Fidel Salmeron, 39, was being sought on a warrant issued on June 13 in Long Beach that charged him with 12 counts of child molestation, including rape and sodomy by force of a minor under the age of 14, said U.S. Marshals Spokeswoman Laura Vega.

Salmeron was arrested Nov. 7, in the 1600 block of Locust Avenue by members of the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Sex Offenders Branch, then turned over to local authorities for prosecution, Vega said.

"He had been a top target in June during 'Operation Summer Heat,' a collaborative effort between the U.S. Marshals, the Long Beach Police Department and other agencies to apprehend violent offenders and fugitives in ... Long Beach," Vega said.

The task force is a team made up officers from local, state and federal agencies that track and arrest local and federal fugitives. Last year, U.S. Marshals task forces arrested around 100,000 fugitives, 11,000 of whom were alleged sex offenders, nationwide, she said.

Salmeron was booked into the Long Beach City Jail last week in lieu of more than $9 million bail and he now has a U.S. Immigration hold placed on him, according to jail records.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on the felony charge at Long Beach Superior Court on Dec. 3.

Alleged child molester at large since June arrested in Long Beach - ContraCostaTimes.com