Redlands man arrested after police find more than 600 child sexual abuse images, narcotics

REDLANDS, Calif. — A Redlands man was arrested last week after detectives found more than 600 images of child sexual abuse and narcotics inside his Brookside Avenue apartment, police said.

Redlands Police arrested 34-year-old Joshua Valentin Sands-Nava on Tuesday, Oct. 7, following an investigation by the department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit. The case began earlier this year when police received a cybertip about multiple uploads of child sexual abuse material to the Kik instant messaging app.

Detectives traced the uploads to an apartment in the 800 block of Brookside Avenue and later discovered additional images tied to several Kik accounts associated with the same address, according to police.

On Thursday, Oct. 2, officers served a search warrant at the apartment, seizing computers, electronic devices and narcotics. Sands-Nava was out of town at the time but later contacted investigators after learning about the search from family members.

He met with detectives Oct. 7 at the Redlands Police Station on Park Avenue, where he was interviewed and arrested. Sands-Nava was booked at Central Detention Center in San Bernardino and later released on bail.

The investigation is part of a broader operation by the regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which includes agencies from San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, to target online sexual exploitation of children.

Anyone with information about this case or other criminal activity is asked to contact Redlands Police Dispatch at (909) 798-7681, ext. 1, or submit a report online at cityofredlands.org/report-crime. Suspicious activity can also be reported through the City of Redlands 311 mobile app.