Riverside County Sheriff’s Department cruiser. MyNewsLA.com file photo: Toni McAllister
A 27-year-old man accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a Lake Elsinore girl since 2012 was charged Wednesday with multiple counts of lewd acts on a child.
Geovanni Arturo Mendoza was arrested Saturday following a monthlong Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.
Along with four counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old, Mendoza is charged with distributing pornography to a minor.
He’s being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta and is slated to make his initial court appearance Thursday at the Southwest Justice Center.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Julio Olguin, in early October, the victim, whose identity was not released, and her family alleged that the defendant had sexually abused her on multiple occasions going back to January 2012.
The alleged offenses were mostly perpetrated at a residence in the 18000 block of Tereticones Avenue, Olguin said.
Detectives initiated an investigation that uncovered sufficient evidence to warrant charges against the defendant, who was taken into custody without incident in Lake Elsinore, according to the sergeant.
No details regarding the alleged acts or Mendoza’s connection to the victim were disclosed.
He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
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