Public’s help sought with investigation of sex offender charged in Costa Mesa assaults

Authorities are asking for the public’s help in finding people who may have been victims of a registered sex offender who was recently charged in the sexual assaults of three Costa Mesa residents.

Jeffrey Robert Smith of Costa Mesa is charged with four felony and 16 misdemeanor counts in connection with acts he is alleged to have committed between May and July.

The most serious allegations against Smith, 43, include breaking into homes to inappropriately touch women.

Smith is accused of entering or peeking into the windows of several Costa Mesa homes and sexually assaulting three residents in their homes, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

In at least one case, Smith is accused of masturbating outside a victim’s home. On another occasion, authorities allege, he was nude outside a home.

Charges against Smith include burglary, misdemeanor sexual battery and elder abuse because one of the women was older than 65, according to court documents.

If convicted of all charges, he could face a maximum sentence ranging from 15 years and four months to life in state prison.

Anyone with information about the cases or who may have been a victim is asked to contact district attorney’s office Supervising Investigator Mark Gutierrez at (714) 347-8794 or Costa Mesa police Det. Robert Hanson at (714) 754-5162.

Smith previously was arrested in Orange County on suspicion of drug violations and failing to register as a sex offender.

In 1999, he pleaded guilty to felony sexual battery and nine misdemeanors, including peeping and false imprisonment. He was sentenced to two years in prison, according to court records.