“CHiPs” star Erik Estrada’s real life imitates his art.
The 75-year-old actor, who will debut the second season of his faith-based home improvement show, “Divine Renovation,” gained fame playing motorcycle police officer Francis Llewellyn “Ponch” Poncherello. Hit police drama TV series ‘CHIPS’ From 1977 to 1983.
While working as an actor, Estrada fulfilled a childhood dream when he became a reserve police officer in Muncie, Indiana. He later became a deputy sheriff in Virginia, where he joined the department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Estrada reflected on his career in law enforcement, which he began in 2008 when he began working the late-night shift at the Muncie Police Department.
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“CHiPs” star Erik Estrada details his undercover work catching online sexual predators who target minors. (Getty/Erik Estrada Instagram)
“I lived with them for three years,” Estrada said. “And then I said, ‘You know what? I’m too old to stop at night, go to bars, knock on doors when I get a domestic disturbance call and do all of that at my age.'”
Along with concerns about his age, Estrada said that Police work Matters were complicated because people often identified him as “Ponch” when he answered the phone.
“Every time I walk out of this state, people ask me for pictures and autographs,” he said. “I can’t do that anymore.
“Then I thought someone would mess up my hair really badly at 2, 3 or 4 in the morning because I worked all night to avoid being exposed to daylight,” Estrada joked.
Estrada said while he was still working as a police officer, he joined the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, where former Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown introduced him to the department’s work as the ICAC Task Force.
WATCH: ‘CHiPs’ star Erik Estrada reveals how he uses fake identity to catch online child molesters
“I was exposed to child pornography on the Internet,” Estrada recalled. “I was really upset when I saw what I was seeing, because my daughter was 7 at the time. It really upset me. And then I got angry. I got mad.
“I was really upset when I saw what happened, because my daughter was 7 at the time. It really upset me. And then I got angry. I got mad.”
“Then I said to Sheriff Mike Brown, ‘Sheriff, if I leave tonight, I’d like to leave the Muncie, Indiana Police Department and take this job. And he said, ‘Well, give me a year to train you. And I’ll look into your schooling and what you’re doing there.'”
Estrada said he joined the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office as a full-time sheriff and the ICAC, where he worked undercover for eight years, using the Internet and online technology to catch child sexual abusers.
In 1998, the ICAC was formed in response to the proliferation of Online child pornography and an increase in the number of offenders using the Internet to target minors for sexual exploitation.
According to the department’s website, the Bedford Country Sheriff’s Department was one of the first 10 local law enforcement agencies selected to serve as an ICAC task force covering Virginia and West Virginia.
Estrada worked as a police officer in Indiana before becoming a sheriff’s deputy in Virginia. (Erik Estrada Instagram)
Estrada told Fox News Digital that when he joined the police force, there were a rise in cases of children being lured and kidnapped by criminals. He said minors were not prepared to defend themselves from online crime. Sexual predator.
“Nobody was teaching our kids what not to do on the Internet,” Estrada said. “How not to cheat and how not to be deceived, what you shouldn’t do. Giving out personal information, having physical contact with people that you think are your, you know, your soul mates, but they’re not.
“Children were being taken away and, of course, they were being harmed, because once a child loses their innocence, they never get it back that way. They never get it back, anyway.”
WATCH: ‘CHiPs’ star Erik Estrada recalls working as a police officer before going undercover to arrest online child molesters
Estrada told Fox News Digital that he continues his work with ICAC as a deputy sheriff for the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office. He explained that he uses fake online identities to catch and arrest potential sexual predators, describing the work as “catching these people who cross the border” on the internet.
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“When they’re talking to you, they think they’re talking to 13½ (year-old) Kimmy,” he said. “Once you tell them your age, if they don’t sign — it’s just a matter of time before they take that step and cross that line and give you probable cause to apprehend them. And then when we go to your house or you come to get us, we take you down.”
During his interview with Fox News Digital, Estrada recalled that he wanted to be a Police officer From the time he was four, he grew up in a housing project in New York’s Spanish Harlem.
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“My mother fired my father from his job,” he recalled. “Because he stuck on a needle, Okay? And then she started dating a cop. The guy’s name was Pete Panos. CSI detective.
“I loved this guy. I used to look through his briefcase and see some really horrible stuff in it. ‘Night of the Living Dead’ kind of stuff. It was awesome. As a kid, it was like, ‘What?’ And I wanted to catch the guy who did that.”
However, Estrada’s life path took a turn when he joined a high school drama club because he was interested in dating a young woman who was a member of that club.
“I was bitten by the acting bug. It completely took hold of me,” he recalled.
“But now I have to tell my mother, ‘Mommy, you have to stay in the projects for a little while longer, then I can get you out of there.’ My poor mother. She cried for days.”
Estrada gained fame playing Officer Francis Llewellyn “Ponch” Poncherello in the hit police drama “CHiPs.” (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
When Estrada told his mother about his change of plans, he promised her that if he hadn’t done well in acting by the time he was 30, he would return to New York and become a police officer. The cutoff to do so was age 32.
Estrada found success at the age of 27 role on “CHiPs”, and his success made it possible for him to assist his mother.
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“My goal was to make that bread and make my mother live like a queen,” he said. “And I finally did it. I let her live on Central Park South overlooking the park for 32 years and she never worked until the day she died.”
While serving in law enforcement, Estrada has continued his acting career and has taken on other projects, including starring in commercials and participating in and hosting reality shows.
The show ran from 1977 to 1983. (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
In 2023, Estrada begins hosting faith-based home improvement Reality series “Divine Renovation”. According to Divine Renovation’s producers at Heartlight Entertainment, the docuseries “builds on the enormous success of the home improvement show while also adding a spiritual element to it.”
The show features Estrada as he works with nonprofits, places of worship, local businesses and neighbors to improve the homes of families in need.
Speaking with Fox News Digital, Estrada recalled that “Divine Renovation” executive producer Monty Hobbs approached him about hosting the series after the actor starred in several faith-based films, including 2013’s “Finding Faith,” 2014’s “Virtuous” and 2015’s “Uncommon.”
Estrada recalled his conversation with Hobbs, “He says, ‘I want to work on a concept where we’re not just beating the Bible over people’s heads, but it’s a do-gooder, feel-good show that’s about working with the community and helping all kinds of people.'”
WATCH: ‘CHiPs’ star Erik Estrada on season two of his faith-based home improvement show ‘Divine Renovation’
The first season of “Divine Renovation” was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina and premiered on Prime Video, Google Play and iTunes in July 2023.
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The second season of “Divine Renovation” was shot in Torrington, Connecticut and is set to premiere in mid-August.
Estrada told Fox News Digital that the show’s second season is “really heartwarming.”
“It’s a great season,” he said. “We have a segment with these dogs that Service Dogs For people suffering from PTSD. Unbelievable, unbelievable section.”
Estrada hosts the faith-based home improvement reality show, “Divine Renovation.” (Daniel Knighton/FilmMagic)
“The Bold and the Beautiful” Alumni He said another portion of the show was filmed at the FISH (Friends in Service to Humanity of Northwestern Connecticut) shelter.
“We gave them a new floor and some other adjustments, renovations to the big house they have,” he said. “And then we put a flag up there because they got a grant to bring in veterans, house them and give them meals.
“So, we gave the veterans a pole so they could do their flag ceremony. And the mayor comes out, and the whole thing is fantastic. And then we do a thing with the police officer and his family because he has a son who is severely disabled.
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“We have fixed it, we have made a track from their bedroom to the bathroom so they can go straight to the bathroom. Made the bathroom bigger. Gave them a removable aluminium ramp outside so it’s convenient and they don’t have to go down,” he said.
“So, there’s a lot of it. And it’s awesome. I’m going to heaven.”
The second season of “Divine Renovation” premieres Sept. 19 on Amazon Prime, Roku, Tubi and other streaming platforms.
