Huntington Beach man pleads not guilty to sexually assaulting 2 young girls

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- A man suspected of sexually assaulting two girls under the age of 10 appeared in an Orange County courtroom Friday.

Gualberto Torres-Vargas, 37, spoke to a judge through an interpreter. The Huntington Beach man pleaded not guilty to charges of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old and 9-year-old girl.

"The worst type of sexual assault on these young little girls from oral copulation to sodomy," said Roxi Fyad with the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors said he committed the crimes between November 2014 and November 2015. Huntington Beach police officers arrested Torres-Vargas at his home, and he is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

The district attorney's office believes there may be more victims because of what Torres-Vargas did for work on the weekend.

"It was discovered that he worked as a clown. That he performs as a clown at children's birthday parties and the like so we know that he's had contact with children," Fyad said.

Prosecutors said he did not meet the two victims while working as a clown, and the investigation is ongoing.

He is due back in court on Feb. 5. If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum of 175 years to life in prison.

Anyone who has more information on potential victims is asked to call the district attorney's office at (714) 347-8794.