Banning man sentenced to 30 years for raping woman, molesting child

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) - A 43-year-old Banning man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted of raping a woman, as well as molesting a 12-year-old girl.  

A Banning jury in early July convicted Steven Roy McElroy of forcible rape, lewd acts on a minor, assault with intent to commit rape and a sentence-enhancing allegation of targeting multiple victims. He was acquitted of a related charge of rape of an intoxicated person.

During a hearing at the Banning Justice Center Monday afternoon, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Singerton imposed the sentence required under state law for the crimes.

Steven Roy McElroy was arrested in 2022 following an extensive Banning Police Department investigation that relied on statements from alleged victims going back a decade.

McElroy was charged for the alleged assault on the 12-year-old girl in March 2022.

Banning police detectives received information afterward concerning two women who alleged they had been sexually assaulted by him on different occasions in 2015 and 2016.

According to Detective Jack Loera, the two women heard about the child molestation charge and decided to speak to police.

Asked why it took so long for her to make the allegation, one of the women said she didn't think authorities would take her seriously regarding the alleged rape at the time, so she waited for the other woman to make her allegations before disclosing her own, according to court papers.

The original incident that led to all of the charges occurred on Dec. 26, 2021, according to the brief.  

McElroy has a felony conviction in another jurisdiction that wasn't listed in court documents.