Oakdale man accused of leaving letters seeking sex with boys

Oakdale police arrested a 65-year-old man after someone found a number of letters left on an alley fence seeking sex from young boys, authorities said.

Stephen Louis Busch of Oakdale was booked Wednesday at Stanislaus County jail on charges of contact with a minor with intent to commit sexual acts and attempted molestation of a child. He remained incarcerated Thursday; bail was set at $50,000.

According to a news release from Sgt. Joe Johnson, a citizen reported finding notes on a fence in the alley between Stanisalaus and Warrington avenues, starting in September. More than 40 notes were turned over to investigators.

An investigator posed as a 15-year-old boy and started exchanging notes with Busch in the alley, police said, and a meeting was arranged.

“In the final letter from the suspect he wrote his first name and home address and described in detail the sex acts in which he wanted to engage with the boy,” Johnson said in the news release.

Using a decoy, police planned a sting operation and set up a meeting. Busch was taken into custody when he arrived at the meeting place. He confirmed he was there to meet a 15-year-old boy, police said.

Authorities served a search warrant for the suspect’s home and seized evidence.

This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Oakdale man accused of leaving letters seeking sex with boys."