According to a Manteca Police Department investigation, the 58-year-old man arrested last week on a host of felony child sexual assault charges used threats of violence to manipulate his two juvenile victims. 

Russell W. Otto was arrested on Friday by Manteca Police Department detectives after it was determined that he had used his relationship with the family – who were neighbors – to befriend the two children when they were under the age of 12. Otto reportedly molested the victims for five years, and per the report of Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Detective Stephen Schluer, it appeared that Otto had no other victims.  

He is currently being charged with lewd acts upon a child with force, lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14, continual sexual abuse of a child, forced oral copulation of a child under the age of 14, forced oral copulation of a child under the age of 14 and aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Otto is set to appear in Department 1 of the Manteca branch of the San Joaquin Superior Court today at 1:25 p.m.