The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) charged 37-year-old DJ and Odyssey VR employee Haifeng Cai on three felony counts of “committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 years old” on Jan. 7.
Cai, who used the stage name “DJ Novus,” is accused of allegedly engaging in sexual activity with a 12-year-old boy he met at the Irvine Spectrum virtual reality store. The OCDA announced charges in a press release.
Cai was first reported to the Irvine Police Department (IPD) on Dec. 14 when an Irvine Spectrum security guard witnessed the alleged victim and Cai in a car. Evidence obtained by police authorities revealed the 37-year-old touched the minor “inappropriately on three separate occasions.”
According to public OC Courts documents, Cai molested the victim on separate occasions in early June and December 2024 and was arraigned on Jan. 3.
IPD declined to comment on the case due to the involvement of a minor.
The Irvine Spectrum issued a statement supporting law enforcement’s actions and announced that Cai has been banned from the property. The Spectrum also ended Odyssey VR’s lease as a future tenant. The lease has a 30-day termination period, and the store will close no later than early February 2025. According to Yelp, the store has operated at the Irvine location since 2020.
The OCDA Office was established in 1889 and is responsible for prosecuting perpetrators to seek justice for victims of crime and educate the community, according to Public Affairs Specialist Aaron Garcia. The Sexual Assault Unit (SAU) of the OCDA prosecutes felonies and violations of sexual assault to seek justice for adult and minor victims.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer previously served as State Co-Chair for Prop. 83 and Prop. 69, which ensured all convicted felons’ DNA were collected in a database. Prop. 83, or Jessica’s Law, was passed in California in November 2006 and outlaws sex offenders from living within a distance of 2,000 feet from areas where children are present. The law also requires registered sex offenders to wear a GPS tracker for the rest of their lives.
Spitzer commented on the case in the OCDA statement.
“The sexual abuse of an innocent child is something that should outrage our entire community and we will continue to do everything we can to continue to protect children from the monsters who seek to prey on them,” Spitzer said.
Cai is currently held in a $1 million bond. He is scheduled for two court hearings on Jan. 16 for bail review and further arraignment.
If convicted at trial for all charges, he will serve a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison.
“This is an incredibly vulnerable victim who sought out belonging and instead of a trusted mentor, he found himself in the arms of a parents’ worst nightmare,” Spitzer said.
Katherine Nava is a News Staff Writer. She can be reached at navakl@uci.edu.