Orinda man deported from Cuba: Accused of repeated sex with 12-year-old

[onlinemom]

BAY CITY NEWS SERVICE - An Orinda mortgage specialist who fled the Bay Area after being accused of engaging in child sex tourism offenses with a 12-year-old Costa Rican girl appeared in federal court in Miami today after being deported from Cuba.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Leonard B. Auerbach, 61, became a fugitive on April 9 when he failed to appear in U.S. District Court in Oakland on one count each of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Auerbach was found in Cuba and was taken into custody there on May 7 and was deported to Miami on Friday.

ICE officials said Cuban officials cited the "grave" nature of the charges against Auerbach when they deported him.

According to ICE, Auerbach's return to the U.S. was the result of a cooperative effort involving the Cuban government, ICE, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement.

Julie Myers, ICE's assistant secretary, said in a statement, "This fugitive's return wouldn't have happened without the extraordinary efforts of all the parties involved and their collective determination to see this defendant brought to justice."

Prior to being captured, Auerbach was featured on ICE's list of "most wanted" fugitives.

According to the U.S. attorney's office, Auerbach traveled to Costa Rica about 40 times between 2003 and 2007,

Prosecutors say that during the execution of search warrants at Auerbach's home in Orinda, federal agents recovered child pornography containing embedded data indicating the images were taken at least as early as September 2004, when the child shown was 12 years old.

An affidavit filed in the case says that the embedded data indicates that the images correspond with at least 10 trips Auerbach took to Costa Rica between September 2004 and April 2007.

The U.S. Attorney's office says court documents also contain quotes from a conversation that was secretly recorded in July 2007 in which Auerbach refers to his "girlfriend," acknowledges her age, comments on pictures he has taken of the child when "her clothes are off or half on" and refers to having sex with the child.

According to prosecutors, the two counts involving child sex tourism each carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison, the production of child pornography count is punishable by up to 30 years, with a 15-year mandatory minimum, and the possession of child pornography count carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years.

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