Sheriff’s Detectives Arrest Santa Maria Man for Online Exploitation of Minors; Additional …

By Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Mon Jun 22, 2026 | 12:37pm Press releases are posted on Independent.com as a free community service. Credit: Courtesy Santa Barbara, Calif. – The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in identifying additional survivors following the arrest of a Santa Maria man accused of using social media and messaging applications to contact and exploit minors. On May 28, 2026, Sheriff’s detectives began an investigation into allegations that 20-year-old Edward “Eddie” Alessandro Zarate of Santa Maria was communicating with underage girls online and exchanging sexually explicit material. During the investigation, detectives learned Zarate used applications including Whipd, Purp, Wizz, Snapchat, and text messaging to communicate with minors. Detectives believe Zarate communicated with minors in multiple states, including Florida and Illinois, as well as throughout California. Detectives believe Zarate also had contact with minors from Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Lompoc, Paso Robles, Nipomo, Arroyo Grande, Oxnard, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Investigators discovered that Zarate’s profiles on these applications appeared to portray him as a juvenile. Once he established communication with minors, he would often encourage them to move conversations off the platform and continue communicating via text message. During
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