Accused Covina child molester found victim on MySpace

A 47-year-old construction worker has been charged with sexually assaulting a boy he met on MySpace, police said Thursday.

Achilles Dartgnan Corelleone pleaded not guilty Thursday to three counts of oral copulation of a person under 16 and two counts of sodomy of a person under 16. The victim, 14, lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Covina.

“He was out there, trolling around on MySpace, and he met this victim,” said Covina police Sgt. Dave Foster. “We seized his laptop and cell phone and we feel very strongly that we’re going to find more evidence on there” of other victims.

Corelleone began corresponding with the boy in March on MySpace.com. A few days later, the pair had exchanged phone numbers and they began texting each other, Foster said. Soon they began meeting in person and Correlleone gained the boy’s trust by giving him presents like gift cards and jewelry. The sexual assault took place between June and early October, Foster said.

It ended when the boy’s father became suspicious of his son’s new friend who was known only by his first name. The father checked his son’s MySpace page and found correspondence between the two.

“He saw a guy who looked like an adult communicating with his son,” Foster said. “He was aware of what kind of vehicle (Corelleone) drove and happened to be driving down the street on Monday and saw the car at a park.”

The boy’s father called police, who detained Corelleone while they interviewed the boy and conducted an investigation. Corelleone was arrested a short time later. Detectives served a search warrant on his Palm Springs-area home the following day. An investigation is continuing into whether other boys may have been victimized. Anyone with information to call the Covina Police Department at 626-384-5808.