Man accused in sexual abuse of Coachella Valley girl reenters not guilty plea

 A 46-year-old Palm Springs man accused of committing repeated acts of sexual abuse against a Coachella Valley girl reentered a not guilty plea today.

Jesus Lucio Rivera was arrested in February 2021 and charged with two counts each of aggravated sexual assault of child, forcible rape of a minor and lewd acts on a child under 14 years old.

Rivera appeared for a post-preliminary hearing at the Larson Justice Center on Friday, where he reentered a not guilty plea on the charges and was scheduled for a trial-readiness conference on March 22.

A Riverside County Superior Court Judge ordered him to stand trial on the charges back in January. He remains held on $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

A co-defendant, Aura Rivera Vidal, 33, of Coachella, pleaded guilty in January to one felony count of willful child cruelty and one misdemeanor count of witness intimidation for facilitating the repeated sexual acts. Vidal was sentenced to 60 months of probation by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Dean Benjamini.

According to Sgt. Christopher Ternes of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the investigation of Vidal was prompted by Rivera's arrest.   

Court papers allege that between October 2017 and April 2019, Rivera committed the offenses at a residence.

Rivera's relationship to the girl, if any, was not disclosed.    Ternes said the investigation of Vidal revealed that she was aware of "the crimes Rivera committed, and she was responsible for the well-being of the victim during the period the victim was sexually assaulted."  

Vidal's relationship to the child also was not divulged.   

Neither she nor Rivera has documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.