Former Santa Barbara bail bondsman arrested for stalking and “rape by identity fraud”

A former Santa Barbara bail bondsman is behind bars without bail on charges of stalking and “rape by identity fraud” after an ex-girlfriend accused him of “falsely manipulating her into having sex with him,” police said.

Sean Wilczak, 30, is charged under a special section of the California penal code that targets defendants who allegedly defrauded their victims. The 2013 law was drafted and supported by former state senator Hannah-Beth Jackson and District Attorney Joyce Dudley after a previous offender was released in Santa Barbara.

Wilczak has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

According to the affidavit in the case, the victim told investigators that she had previously had a relationship with Wilczak and that he actively stalked her by “following her to various locations in Santa Barbara and making her feel uncomfortable.”

During the same time period, the victim said, Wilczak created a fake online dating profile to coerce her into having sex at an Airbnb. “Wilczak made the condition that (the victim) wear a blindfold during intercourse, and she agreed,” the affidavit states.

“(The victim) only agreed to this arrangement because she believed ‘LuxMentor’ was a stranger, not Wilczak.” After leaving the Airbnb, Wilczak called the victim to tell her that he was actually “LuxMentor.”

A day after the victim filed her report with the police, she received numerous calls from a blocked number that she believed belonged to Wilczak, who also began to bombard her friends with threatening calls.

Detectives tracked Wilczak down at a downtown restaurant and took him into custody. He was also charged with witness harassment. He was taken to the county jail, but a judge denied him bail, citing the seriousness of the allegations and other charges pending against him.

Wilczak was previously arrested for grand larceny in 2022 after allegedly stealing $25,000 from three of his bail bonds clients. The California Department of Insurance said he was operating illegally under an unregistered business name, Wolf Bail Bonds, and pocketing cash given to him by families trying to get their relatives out of jail.

The state board revoked Wilczak’s license and said Santa Barbara prosecutors would handle the criminal side of the case. Court records show Wilczak is accused of insurance fraud in the same matter. They also show he is involved in several restraining orders, both as a plaintiff and defendant.

Wilczak will appear in court again on June 24 for a bail review hearing.