A Thermal man convicted of multiple charges after molesting one of his daughters several times and then trying to intimidate her and his wife into changing their stories to spare him from prosecution was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday.
Elit Barroso Miranda, 41, was previously found guilty of two counts of lewd acts on a child, 11 counts of violating a protective order and one count each of attempting to suborn perjury and witness intimidation, according to case records. A third lewd acts charge was dismissed.
Miranda was sentenced on Tuesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to John Hall of the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
According to a trial brief filed by the prosecution, Miranda turned lascivious with the victim while she was on spring break and at home every day during the last week of April 2019.
The father of seven’s first alleged illicit encounter with the 12-year old girl happened while she was resting in bed early in the morning. Prosecutors said the defendant laid on top of her and began fondling her breasts. When she tried to wiggle out from under him, he picked her up and carried her to the living room, placed her on the sofa and resumed the activity, but he immediately stopped as one of his other children entered the room, according to the brief.
On another occasion, Miranda kissed the girl around the neck to arouse himself, and on a third occasion, he grabbed her from behind while she was attempting to change clothes, carrying her to her bed and laying on top of the girl, fondling her breasts until he heard footsteps in the hall, prompting him to let her go, court papers alleged.
When the girl told her mother what transpired, the woman was irate and ordered Miranda out of the house, then called 911, according to the brief.
Sheriff’s deputies and social workers interviewed the girl a day later at her middle school, then summoned the defendant to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Thermal station that week for questioning, during which he suggested the child was not a liar but “denied touching her (lasciviously) and stated he only hugs her all the time,” the brief stated.
Miranda was taken into custody without incident.
In the ensuing months, while jailed and in violation of a “stay away” protective order filed by his spouse, the defendant allegedly called her numerous times, trying to persuade her to pressure the girl into changing her story so that he wouldn’t be criminally prosecuted, prosecutors allege.
Using manipulative methods, Miranda reminded the woman “she’s alone” with seven children “and has no money,” according to the brief. At one point, the woman did take the girl to speak with the defendant’s attorney, but there was no disclosure regarding what was discussed, authorities said.
The case proceeded to trial.
Court records show Miranda has prior misdemeanor convictions for presenting false identification to a law enforcement officer and being an unlicensed operator of a motor vehicle. He has no documented prior felony convictions.