Hồng Minh Quang at the airport before departing for the US. The Vietnamese entertainer is being held the Orange County, California for allegedly sexually assaulting a boy. — Photo giadinh.net.vn

HÀ NỘI – The Consulate General of Việt Nam in San Francisco has confirmed the arrest of Vietnamese entertainer Hồng Minh Quang in California on March 24 for allegedly sexually assaulting a boy.

The Consulate said that Quang, 38, is being held in the Orange County jail and is due to appear in court on April 15, online newspaper vietnamplus.vn reported today.

The local authority refused to provide any further information as the case is under investigation, according to the consulate.

The Vietnamese agency also said that they would send their staffer to California to search for more relevant information.

The suspect was arrested when he travelled to Orange County from Việt Nam and was planning to visit Atlanta.

According to a report posted in the United States (US) newspaper ocregister.com on Monday, Hồng Minh Quang, 38, who goes by the stage name Minh Béo, was charged on Friday with one count each of oral copulation of a minor, attempting to commit a lewd act upon a child under the age of 14, and meeting with a minor with intent to engage in lewd conduct.

Efforts to contact Michael Morrison, listed in court records as Minh’s attorney, were unsuccessful on Monday.

If convicted on all charges, Minh Béo faces a maximum sentence of five years and eight months in a state prison and a mandatory lifetime sex offender registration, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

Minh Béo spoke on March 20 to a group of dancers at a talent show at a radio station in Huntington Beach, telling them he was hosting auditions for a video project, prosecutors said.

He is accused of engaging in oral sex with a boy on March 23, when the victim arrived for an audition, according to prosecutors. The boy reported the incident to Garden Grove police, which launched an investigation.

The next day, an undercover Garden Grove officer posing as a minor under the age of 14 communicated with Minh Béo, prosecutors said.

He is accused of attempting to set up a meeting with the officer with the intent of committing sexual assault and was subsequently arrested, according to prosecutors. – VNS