Richland rape suspect indicted on fed charges after more young victims found
Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputies suspected that Otoneil Parraga, 22, may have committed other crimes against girls when he was arrested in April based on his alleged contact with one teen.
Deputies arrested the Richland man in April on suspicion of third-degree rape of a Tri-Cities 15-year-old, commercial sexual abuse of a minor and communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
But the investigation continued, leading to a federal grand jury indictment Wednesday.
Now Parraga is accused of 15 crimes against seven girls, two of them younger than 14.
He is facing counts related to each of the girls of sex trafficking of children and online enticement or attempted online enticement of a minor.
He also is suspected of production of child pornography with one of the girls, who was between the ages of 14 and 18, according to a federal court document.
The case started with Parraga’s communicating with a 15-year-old on TikTok in April with Parraga using the screen name “509 biggie” and “@509_plug. tri” and then moving on to exchanging text messages.
Parraga, who was initially reported to be living in Prosser, had never met the teen in person.
He had started communicating with her by commenting on a funny video she shared online and that progressed to sending her a nude photo, according to court documents.
He then convinced the girl to sneak out of her house, saying he would give her vapes in exchange for a sexual act, according to court document.
Instead, he raped her near her house, court documents said.
Details of alleged crimes with other girls have yet to be made public through federal court documents.
As part of the investigation into possible additional alleged victims, Benton County deputies have circulated a photo of a distinctive 2002 Toyota Celica they seized when they arrested Parraga. The car has a large spoiler and is bright blue with a black interior.
They believe Parraga communicated with girls not only on TikTok and with text messages but also on the Discord platform.
Deputies continue to investigate in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations and the Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Anyone with information can call 509-727-8788.