A LAKE FOREST man was arrested Thursday on charges of attempting to meet a minor for sex (Shutterstock).

A 26-year-old Lake Forest man has been arrested by Huntington Beach police on three charges relating to attempted child molestation.

According to Lt. Brian Smith of the HBPD, Ricardo Castro was taken into custody at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. He was booked into the city jail on charges of:

• 

  RICARDO CASTRO (HBPD photo).

  Sending harmful matter with the intent to seduce a minor

• Communicating with a minor with the intent to engage in lewd acts
• Arranging a meeting with a minor to engage in specific illegal acts.

Detectives had been investigating Castro, who they believed was using social media “apps” to arrange a meeting with an underage person. In actuality, he connected with an undercover detective posing as a 13-year-old.

When Castro traveled to Surf City for the supposed meeting, he was detained by detectives and arrested. He was being held on $100,000 bail.

Police caution that parents need to monitor the online activities of children, who may be preyed upon by adults using apps such as Houseparty, Whisper, WhatsApp, Omegie, Blendr, Kik and SnapChat to target minors.