Menifee cop charged with sexually assaulting two women

Editor's Note: The Riverside County District Attorney's office, citing a clerical error by its office, clarified that a minor was not invovled in the case. Both victims in the criminal complaint are adults. The article has been updated with the correct information.

MURRIETA, Calif. (KESQ) - A Menifee policeman accused of sexually assaulting two women while on and off duty, one of whom was a domestic violence victim he exploited, was charged today with forcible rape and other offenses.   

Juan Jose Pesina Jr., 32, of Murrieta was arrested Tuesday following a two-week investigation handled by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's Special Victims Unit.

Along with rape, Pesina is charged with felony sexual battery, attempted forcible sodomy, first-degree burglary, forced oral copulation, attempted forced oral copulation and two counts of assault with intent to commit rape, as well as sentence-enhancing allegations of perpetrating sexual offenses during a burglary.   

The defendant, who is being held on $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, was slated to make his initial court appearance at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta Thursday.

Pesina is on unpaid administrative leave from his position at the Menifee Police Department.

The agency released a statement Tuesday saying the Professional Standards Unit had received a complaint from a woman on July 22 alleging encounters with the lawman over two years earlier in which he had sexually abused her.  

"A preliminary internal investigation was immediately conducted,'' Menifee police Sgt. Raul Perez said. "In order to ensure a fair, thorough and impartial investigation, the department requested an independent criminal investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.''

Sheriff's Sgt. Jim Peters said MPD Internal Affairs detectives informed the Special Victims Unit that ``Pesina was accused of sexually assaulting a victim during an on-duty investigation."

"During the course of our investigation, additional victims were identified in incidents that had occurred between 2023 and 2024,'' Peters said. "Investigators determined Pesina encountered these victims while on duty and off duty."  

According to the criminal complaint, the victims were allegedly assaulted in February 2023 and January 2024.   

Pesina allegedly accessed the property of his first alleged victim illegally and perpetrated multiple sexual offenses over an unspecified period, according to the prosecution.

The second person was allegedly victimized 11 months later, suffering similar abuse, according to the complaint.

The document didn't specify which person, but it alleged that "after returning the victim of domestic violence to her home ... the defendant entered her home and forcibly sexually assaulted her.''   

The police department did not disclose when Pesina was hired, or in specifically what capacities he has worked, other than patrol.   

If convicted, he could face life in prison with the possibility of parole.