A convicted felon accused of sexually assaulting a young family member in Moreno Valley over a period of years pleaded not guilty Thursday to rape of a minor and other charges.
Jesus Alfredo Mejia, 33, was arrested last month following an investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Along with rape, Mejia is charged with more than a dozen other offenses, including aggravated sexual assault of a child, lewd acts on a minor, penetration by violence and oral copulation by force or fear.
He was arraigned before Superior Court Judge David Gunn, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Dec. 16 at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Mejia is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Ed Baeza, detectives were alerted in September to possible acts of child molestation involving the defendant at a residence in the 15000 block of Carolina Avenue.
Over a roughly four-week span, detectives gathered evidence indicating Mejia allegedly had been sexually abusing the victim, identified only as a young girl related to him, going back to 2012, according to sheriff’s officials.
Child pornography was found in the defendant’s possession, Baeza alleged, but it was unclear whether any of the material included photographs or video of the victim.
According to court records, Mejia has a prior conviction for obstruction of a law enforcement officer. Records also showed that he was charged in 2003 with sexual assault and domestic violence, but the charges were dropped months later without explanation.
>> Want to read more stories like this? Get our Free Daily Newsletters Here!