Suspect charged  with providing porn to a minor, annoying or molesting children & stalking 

UKIAH – Kudos to Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputies and California Department of Justice (DOJ) criminalists whose efforts, together, led to the arrest of Jerry Mac Bivin, 46, of Ukiah.   One can only suspect what Bivin’s intentions were, he was allegedly making lewd attempts to engage in sex with children.   Deputies arrested Bivin on February 1, 2016, after a three month investigation that included sending evidence to DOJ criminalists, high profile patrols and undercover surveillance.

“There’s no question in my mind that the work of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and DOJ criminalists prevented something far worse from happening,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.  “As a parent, I am forever grateful that this suspect has been arrested.  As a law enforcement officer, I can simply say, what an excellent job!”

When this case first began, deputies had no clue who they were dealing with.  In October 2015, they were called to a home in Mendocino County regarding pornography left at a bus stop.  Deputies learned a subject had left pornographic images for a juvenile female and her juvenile male cousin.   Based on information written in a note, it was apparent the suspect was soliciting sexual encounters with the children.

Deputies learned of a similar situation that took place a mile from the initial victim’s residence.  A female adult had received  pornographic images, as well as a letter containing  vulgar writing, sexual in nature.  Deputies compared the letters and found they were very similar in style and content. There were several hand-drawn images by the suspect which were nearly identical.  The suspect also appeared to be soliciting a sexual encounter with this victim.

Deputies retained the letters for trace evidence to include fingerprinting and DNA and sent them to a DOJ crime lab for forensic testing.  Deputies also stepped up high visibility patrols in the areas of schools,  school bus stops and parks  in the Ukiah Valley and  began an intense covert surveillance effort to catch the suspect.

In January 2016, a third victim contacted the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.  This victim was a juvenile male who told deputies he found a letter, which contained vulgar sexual requests as well as hand drawn pornography,  alongside his driveway.

Shortly after the third victim contacted deputies, the DOJ Forensic Lab contacted the Sheriff’s Office to inform investigators  that DOJ criminalists had  extracted  DNA from the evidence sent to them, uploaded the DNA into CODIS, the Combined DNA Index System, and found a match.

“The technology our criminalists can bring to bear on these kinds of cases is extraordinarily valuable in identifying suspects,” said Association of Criminalists-DOJ President John Miller.  “This type of crime is tough to crack, because trace DNA is not always present in written materials, but our systems and protocols are sufficiently sophisticated and our criminalists are skillful enough to find it if it’s there.”

The DNA from the evidence matched with that of Jerry Mac Bivin, a man living in the Ukiah area.  Further investigation revealed Bivin had been investigated and arrested for a similar offenses in the state of Missouri.   Deputies received investigative reports from the State of Missouri and found more similarities between the Missouri investigation and the current crimes occurring in Mendocino County.

Upon learning of the suspect’s identity, deputies began surveillance of Bivin and were able to locate Bivin’s residence.  Deputies received a search warrant for Bivin’s home  as well as an arrest warrant charging him with providing harmful materials to a child, solicitation of a minor for sexual acts, stalking and annoying or molesting children.

Deputies served those warrants on February 1st,  and found evidence that linked Bivin to the  crimes.  That evidence  included vulgar letters, hand written pornographic images, pornography, writing materials, and more notes about the previous victims. Bivin was arrested and booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he is currently held on $1,000,000.00 bail.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone who may have further information regarding these crimes or has received any of these types of letters to please contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office as soon as possible on the MCSO Tip Line 707-234-2100.