The 42-year-old Shaun Hertlein, a Goleta youth pastor and former DPHS assistant football coach, was arrested for several felony child sex crimes. The investigation followed a case regarding lewd images of children from last month. Santa Barbara detectives arrested Hertlein on Friday, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
In that press release, the sheriff’s department stated that Hertlein was arrested on a warrant for felonies that included sending sexual images to a minor, electronic communication “with intent to commit specific crimes,” and the “possession of obscene images of a child.”
The Santa Barbara Unified School District announced on Monday that the “district staff will be fully cooperating” with the sheriff’s office and asked anyone with information to contact school administration. The sheriff’s office said detectives believe there could be additional survivors who have had contact with Herlein and “encourage them to seek justice.”
“We would like survivors to know that Sheriff’s detectives coordinate closely with the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office Victim-Witness Program,” the sheriff’s office added in the press release, “to ensure the needs of survivors are not overshadowed by the focus on the investigation and prosecution of the accused.”
Anyone with information relevant to the case has been asked to contact Detective F. Arnoldi by phone at (805) 681-4150. Anonymous tips can be left at sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip or by calling (805) 681-4171.
