Orange County law enforcement is seeking possible victims of registered sex offender Jeffrey Robert Smith, who pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of peeping, improperly touching three residents in their homes and jerking off outside one of those homes.
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Between May and July 16, Smith allegedly entered Costa Mesa homes uninvited or peeked through windows, and three times he touched residents–a male and two females–sexually, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA).
Besides the assaults, the 43-year-old Costa Mesa resident masturbated outside a victim's home, prosecutors add.
Smith was naked on a resident's porch in the 2100 block of Orange Avenue on July 16 when he arrested by Costa Mesa Police. The investigation included the collection of DNA that matched Smith, the OCDA says.
Cops already knew Smith by then. He was arrested in Costa Mesa in April for failing to register as a sex offender and was sentenced to 60 days in jail. He was arrested in Costa Mesa in May for alleged battery and trespassing.
He pleaded not guilty Friday to–take a breath–one felony count of assault with intent to commit sexual offense during commission of first degree burglary, two felony counts of first degree residential burglary of inhabited dwelling, one felony count of elder and dependent adult abuse, two misdemeanor counts of sexual battery, one misdemeanor count of indecent exposure, one misdemeanor count of lewd act in public, five misdemeanor counts of peeking, four misdemeanor counts of prowling, one misdemeanor count of unauthorized entry of a dwelling, one misdemeanor count of aggravated trespass of a dwelling, one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance paraphernalia and sentencing enhancement allegations for being a non-accomplice present during a residential burglary, and committing a crime against a vulnerable victim.
An Orange County Superior Court judge accepted Deputy District Attorney Bobby Taghavi's request to up Smith's bail from $200,000 to $1 million. Headed back to court in November, Smith faces up to 15 years and four months to life in state prison with a conviction on all those counts, according to the OCDA.
Meanwhile, there are fears there may be other victims–and more potential charges. Anyone with additional information or who believes they have been a victim is encouraged to contact OCDA Supervising Investigator Mark Gutierrez at 714.347.8794 or Costa Mesa Detective Robert Hanson at 714.754.5162.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.