By Janene Scully
Noozhawk North County Editor
Three more charges have been filed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court against a Buellton yearbook salesman in a case now alleging inappropriate sexual contact with 12 teen boys.
Gregory Scott Ray, 53, of Buellton now faces 34 charges, all of them felonies, after the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office filed a third amended criminal complaint in the case on Thursday.
Greg Scott Ray
Ray, who was described as a yearbook consultant and salesman based in Central California, was taken into custody in April 2019 after detectives served a search warrant.
As part of his job, he traveled to many other counties within California while employed as an independent contractor and sales consultant for Friesens LLC, a yearbook publishing company.
He also assisted with yearbook consulting at many school campuses in the state, from San Jose to Los Angeles County, and may have attended yearbook camps and conferences. That led Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department investigators to suspect there were victims beyond the Santa Ynez Valley.
The investigation into Ray began March 18, 2019, when Santa Ynez Valley Union High School representatives contacted sheriff’s deputies after a teacher overheard a conversation involving Ray and reported it to school administrators.
Detectives learned that Ray allegedly was using a social media app to meet and have sexual contact with young males ranging from 13 to 17 years old.
The charges include various sexual crimes involving the underage victims — called John Does 1 to 12 — including forcible oral copulation of a minor, sodomy of a minor, lewd or lascivious acts, sexual battery and sending child pornography. In addition to the charges, Ray faces a number special allegations or sentencing enhancements.
The criminal complaint alleges that the crimes occurred in Orange and Fresno counties in addition to Santa Barbara County.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 29 before Judge John McGregor.
Ray remains in the custody of the Santa Barbara County Jail with bail set at $500,000.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com.
