On May 5, 2025, detectives with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit, in collaboration with the United States Secret Service and Homeland Security Investigations, served a search warrant in Northwest Bakersfield related to the illegal possession and use of obscene material involving a female juvenile. The investigation was initiated after the Sheriff’s Office received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), identifying an Instagram account that had engaged in explicit communications with a 15-year-old girl from South Carolina.
Through investigative efforts, the Instagram account was linked to Marc Lugo, 35, a resident of Bakersfield. Records obtained from the platform revealed Lugo had engaged in online communication encouraging the juvenile victim to send explicit material.
Lugo, who is currently employed by Bakersfield Police Department, was arrested and booked into jail on multiple charges, including:
• P.C. 288.3 – Contacting a minor with intent to commit a sexual offense
• P.C. 311.11(a) – Possession of obscene material depicting a minor
• P.C. 311.4(a) – Use or possession of obscene sexual material involving a minor
This remains an ongoing investigation.
