Thousand Oaks man charged with human trafficking, sex crimes with minors

A 41-year-old Thousand Oaks man has been charged with a range of sex crimes, including human trafficking and possessing child pornography, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Robert Ryan McGraa pleaded not guilty to one count of human trafficking, three counts of possessing child pornography and one count of misdemeanor child-luring during an arraignment on Sept. 8. Prosecutors also filed special allegations based on prior convictions of felony unlawful sex with a minor in 2006 and human trafficking of a minor in 2017.

The charges stem from McGraa's purported activity across Ventura County over the past eight years.

In 2014, McGraa allegedly coerced a woman to perform commercial sex acts in Oxnard. In 2016, McGraa sent sexually suggestive messages to a 14-year-old girl he knew in Simi Valley, authorities said. Prosecutors also claim McGraa possessed explicit photographs of young children on at least three separate occasions.

McGraa currently remains in custody at the Todd Road Jail facility, where he is being held without bail after a court hearing on Sept. 12. He is due to appear for an early disposition conference at 1:30 p.m. Monday in room 12 of Ventura County Superior Court.

The investigation into McGraa is ongoing, and prosecutors say he may have committed other sexually motivated crimes. He is believed to have spent time in Thousand Oaks, Oxnard and Simi Valley, and has been “very active” on social media and internet sites, according to the DA's office.

Anyone who has been contacted by McGraa online or in person in a sexually suggestive manner is asked to call the DA's supervising investigator, Terry Dobrosky, at 805-383-4779. Those who know of such interactions, even if they haven't been personally contacted by McGraa, are also asked to call Dobrosky.

The  investigation was conducted by the DA's office, the Southern California High Tech Task Force and the Los Angeles Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Jeremy Childs is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at 805-437-0208, [email protected], and on Twitter @Jeremy_Childs.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Thousand Oaks man charged with human trafficking, child pornography