Kirill Viktorovich Neledva, 40, of Ceres, was arrested in Santa Cruz on June 3 on three felony sex charges, according to police in that coastal city.

Neledva was arrested on suspicion of soliciting sex acts, contacting a minor with sexual intent and distribution or exhibition of lewd material to a minor. He also faces two misdemeanor counts of contacting a minor with sexual intentions and child endangerment.

A citizen watchdog group named Child Safety Soldiers used a decoy who engaged in online conversation for three months with the Ceres man who set up a Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk encounter with someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl who was agreeing to meet for sex. Santa Cruz Police were standing by as the encounter went down. The person he was actually communicating with was a male director of the organization which took evidence of the sexually explicit conversations to police. 

Child Safety Soldiers, a non-profit group, was founded by New Jersey resident Shane Coyle after he discovered that his then 11-year-old daughter was in conversation with a predator seven years ago.

His group has been involved with more than 600 sting operations.

Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Jon Bush said his officers followed up Tuesday with a search warrant of his home in Ceres. 

Bush said his agency had probable cause to arrest Neledva, but acknowledged that his officers needed to delve forensic evidence and cellphone text messages before taking the case to court.