Camarillo man caught in hotel room with teenage boy

Richard Willrodt

A Camarillo man was arrested late Saturday night after a 15-year-old boy was allegedly discovered passed out drunk in the man's room at the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, according to police.

The suspect, 48yearold Richard Dennis Willrodt, is an accountant who, police said, allegedly lured the boy to the hotel after making contact with him on the Internet at craigslist.org, a social networking and classified advertisement site.

Willrodt was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, a felony, but the suspect made $20,000 bail and was released on Sunday, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

On Saturday night, hotel guests complained to security about noise coming from Willrodt's room. The suspect promised to keep the noise down. Security responded again, along with the fire department, after the teen had reportedly passed out drunk.

"Once inside the room, paramedics realized the young man was underage, and they called for police," said Lt. Paul Vernon, head of the LAPD Central Detective Division, in a written statement.

Willrodt was arrested following questioning. Detectives seized his laptop computer as well as other items in the hotel room as evidence.

The boy was examined at a local hospital and released to his guardian. A spokesperson with the LAPD refused further comment because the alleged victim is a minor.

"This case should be a loud wake-up call to parents to monitor and limit their children's activity on the Internet," Vernon said. "We are releasing Willrodt's photograph in the event he may have contacted other children in similar rendezvous."

Police are asking anyone with information related to Willrodt or this case to call LAPD Detective Thayer Lake at (213) 972-1226.

- Eliav Appelbaum