Disneyland employee accused of seeking sex from minor for park tickets

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Disneyland employee accused of offering what he thought was a 14-year-old girl tickets to the Southern California amusement park in exchange for sex acts was charged on Monday with attempting to commit sex crimes against a minor.

Authorities say Darreck Michael Enciso, 27, posted an ad on Craigslist seeking women willing to engage in sex acts for Disneyland tickets, then arranged to meet an undercover police officer posing as the teen.

Enciso, who works at the park in Anaheim, was taken into custody when he arrived at a pre-arranged meeting location in nearby Huntington Beach, carrying condoms and the tickets, according to a joint statement by police and the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

He was charged with one count of attempted lewd act on a child, one count of contacting a child with the intent to commit a sex crime, and one count of meeting a minor with the intent to engage in lewd conduct.

If convicted at trial, Enciso faces up for four years, eight months in state prison and a requirement that he register as a sex offender for life.

Authorities say Enciso has placed several similar ads on Craigslist and asked for the public's help in identifying any possible additional victims.

A spokeswoman for Disneyland, which is owned by the Walt Disney Co, said Enciso had been "immediately relieved of his duties as a dishwasher."

Enciso worked as dishwasher in one of the resort's hotels and did not interact with guests in his job, according to the park.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Eric Beech)