November 5, 2026 – Guadalupe, CA – Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office officials report that detectives arrested two Guadalupe men following separate investigations involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Although the investigations are unrelated, detectives served search warrants in both cases simultaneously on Wednesday morning.

Both investigations originated from notifications through the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program, a nationwide initiative established by the U.S. Department of Justice to support investigations involving the online exploitation of children.

On Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at approximately 7:00 a.m., Sheriff’s detectives, assisted by federal law enforcement partners, served search warrants at two residences in Guadalupe.

At a residence in the 4500-block of Esperanza Drive, detectives arrested 45-year-old Robert Ray Bishop of Guadalupe. Bishop was booked on felony charges including possession of child sexual abuse material and distribution, transportation, or possession with intent to distribute obscene material depicting minors engaged in sexual conduct. His bail was set at $40,000.

At a second residence, located at 300-block of Tognazzini Avenue, detectives arrested 26-year-old Alejandro Mendez Herrera of Guadalupe. Herrera was booked on felony charges including possession of child sexual abuse material portraying sexual sadism or sexual masochism involving a person under 18 years of age. His bail was set at $100,000.

Both Bishop and Mendez Herrera were booked at the Northern Branch Jail.

While the two investigations involve similar offenses and the search warrants were served at the same time, investigators have not identified a connection between the cases. Both investigations remain ongoing.

Federal investigators assisted with the investigations and service of the search warrants. Crimes involving the online sexual exploitation of children frequently cross jurisdictional boundaries, making collaboration between local and federal law enforcement agencies essential.

The community is encouraged to visit: www.Missingkids.org/NetSmartz for educational internet safety tips and activities. The community may also report potential child sexual abuse activity and have the harmful matter removed via the service “Take it Down” hosted on the website: https://takeitdown.ncmec.org. By reporting the potential child sexual abuse activity, you are giving a potential victim a voice when they are often silenced due to circumstance.

Source: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office