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Police Seek Child Victims of Prison Employee

 

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By Jorge Casuso

November 14, 2024 -- Santa Monica police are looking for possible victims of a maximum security prison employee arrested last month for showing nude pictures of himself to four children on the Pier.

Benjamin Bush, 46, who is a nurse for the the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, was arrested on October 24 for child annoyance and distributing harmful matter to a minor, police officials said.

The arrest took place at Bush's Rosamond home in Kern County after "an intensive investigation by detectives," said Lt. Erika Aklufi, the Police Department spokesperson.

Benjamin BushThe incident took place at 7:05 p.m. on September 18 outside Pacific Park, "where Bush intentionally displayed a nude photograph of himself to three 9-year-old victims."

"He showed the photo through the fence," Aklufi told The Lookout. The parents of the victims reported the incident to police that day, she said.

Before the Pacific Park incident, Bush was "observed displaying the same photograph of himself to an unidentified juvenile victim inside Playland Arcade," Aklufi said.

Detectives used footage from Pacific Park's security cameras to identify Bush and locate him in his home in Kern County, where Tehachapi prison is also located.

"God only knows he could have been driving around California doing that," Aklufi said, adding that other law enforcement agencies have been alerted.

Bush has no prior criminal history, according to police.

Tehachapi prison covers 1,650 acres and is considered a "supermax" prison, which the National Institute of Corrections defines as "a stand-alone unit or part of another facility" that "is designated for violent or disruptive incarcerated individuals."

Anyone with information about the suspect or investigation should email Detective Baker at ean.Baker@santamonica.gov or Detective Sergeant Haro at David.Haro@santamonica.gov, or call the Watch Commander 24 hours a day at 310-458-8427.


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