Two Arrested in Sexual Assault of 17-Year-Old Girl at Redlands Motel

One of the suspects is accused of arranging for men to have sex with a girl he met in an online chat

A second man was arrested Wednesday in connection with the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl at a Redlands motel room -- an encounter that police said was arranged by a man who met the victim in an online chat group.

The arrest of Lamar Gatrail Lockhart, 23, comes after the June 2 arrest  of 31-year-old Wilbert Andres Mancia-Mejia, of Colton, who allegedly arranged for men to have sex with the Loma Linda girl at the motel.

Lockhart, of Yucaipa, was arrested Wednesday in Highland. He was booked on suspicion of sexual assault on a minor and held on $150,000 bond at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Mancia-Mejia is accused of pimping, pandering and human trafficking in a case that investigators said started with a meeting involving the suspect and victim through a web chat group. Mancia-Mejia then contacted the girl on another social networking site, according to a Redlands police statement.

Mancia-Mejia used the name "Albert Mann" and told the girl he was 17 years old.

"She then started up a conversation with him online and, eventually, met him, and they started a sexual relationship," said Redlands police spokesman Carl Baker. "He was taking advantage of a young girl."

Images of the girl and advertisements for sex appeared on Craigslist, according to investigators. On May 30, Lockhart allegedly sexually assaulted the girl in a motel room rented by Mancia-Mejia, who waited in his car during the attack, police said.

The girl reported the assault to police and Mancia Mejia was arrested June 2. He was booked into Central Detention Center in San Bernardino, where he is being held on $400,000 bail.

Investigators are seeking information regarding possible additional victims. Anyone with information can contact authorities at 909-798-7623.

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