TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – A transient man was arrested after allegedly offering teens beer in exchange for sexual acts earlier this week in Twentynine Palms. Joshua Padore, 32, was arrested on Monday afternoon on the 71700 block of Twentynine Palms Highway. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Padore approached two teenagers and
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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A registered sex offender who pimped out a teenager for call girl services in the Riverside metropolitan area and elsewhere pleaded guilty today to human trafficking.  Deirdrick Dayvon Bradford, 31, of Rosamond admitted the felony count under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A former Coachella Valley girls soccer coach who molested and propositioned multiple students was convicted today of nearly a dozen felony and misdemeanor charges. A Banning jury on Tuesday found 29-year-old Juan Manuel Pantoja Troncoso of Salton City guilty of three counts each of forcible lewd acts on a child and
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CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) – A 46-year-old Cathedral City man was convicted of sexually assaulting minors in a case that dates back to 2015. David Haro, 46, was convicted of rape of a 14-year-old or older and multiple counts of lewd acts on a child 14/15 years old. Haro is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct.
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A Coachella Valley musician who spied on boys using a restaurant bathroom, illegally recording them, was sentenced today to three years in state prison. Joseph Paul Seiders, 45, of Palm Desert in June pleaded guilty to felony possession of child pornography and misdemeanor counts of intent to invade privacy through use
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COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ)  – The search for the suspect who killed Alberto ‘Albert’ Castillo Jr. and wounded 2 other adolescent males continues. The shooting happened around 4 a.m. on August 2nd in the 49000 block of Corte Molino where deputies said they were dispatched for a report of an assault with a deadly weapon. Three teenagers
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – A Palm Springs man accused of lewd contact with a minor from out of the state was arrested Tuesday. The suspect, a 42-year-old man, was arrested in the area of 1200 E. Palm Canyon Drive. Palm Springs police said they were alerted last week to inappropriate online communications involving an
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A Coachella Valley Unified School District teacher accused of inappropriately touching a student must stand trial for lewd acts on a minor and other offenses, a judge ruled today. Mario Manuel Valenzuela, 42, of Coachella, was arrested in February following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation. Â Â At the end of
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – Jury deliberations got underway today in the trial of a 43-year-old Banning man accused of raping two women on separate occasions while they were intoxicated, as well as molesting a 12-year-old girl. Steven Roy McElroy was arrested in 2022 following a Banning Police Department investigation that relied on statements from alleged
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INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A 24-year-old Desert Hot Springs man caught with hundreds of pornographic pictures and videos depicting children was sentenced today to 16 months in state prison. Victor Christopher Lascano pleaded guilty in March to two counts of possession of child porn, as well as a sentence-enhancing allegation of possession of explicit material
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MURRIETA, Calif. (KESQ) – Defense testimony began today in the trial of a young man accused of fatally shooting a 17-year-old Cathedral City boy during a street confrontation possibly stemming from ill-will that developed when the two worked together. Juan Alfredo Landeros Garcia, 26, of Cathedral City, is charged with first-degree murder, shooting at an
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A 40-year-old man accused of inflicting deadly injuries on an infant he was babysitting in San Jacinto was charged today with first-degree murder and other offenses. Alejandro Cuevas of Beaumont was arrested last week following a months-long Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the death of the baby girl. Along with
Continue Reading SAN JACINTO, Calif. (KESQ) – A Beaumont man has been arrested in connection with the death of a four-month-old baby. The suspect, a 40-year-old man, was identified as an associate of the victim’s family. He was arrested Friday afternoon and remains in custody at the Larry Smith Correctional Facility. He has not been officially charged,
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Update 5/14/25 The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against foster parents and their adult daughter, accused of torturing six children. “It is alleged that the foster parents and their adult daughter subjected all six children (aged four – sixteen), to years of physical, emotional, and mental abuse,” reads a DA’s office news
Continue Reading MURRIETA, Calif. (KESQ) – Pretrial motions got underway today ahead of jury selection for the trial of a man accused of gunning down a 17-year-old Cathedral City boy in a car-to-car shooting. Juan Alfredo Landeros Garcia, 24, of Cathedral City is charged with first-degree murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle and sentence-enhancing gun and great
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A Cabazon man was arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a child, the Banning Police Department announced this week. Andrew Chavez, 32, was arrested on April 8 at the Las Encinas Mental Hospital in Del Mar, according to jail records. He has been charged with 8 counts of child sex abuse.
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RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (KESQ) – A teacher at a private school in Rancho Mirage charged with raping a teenager pleaded not guilty on Friday. Stephen Spurlock, 43, a now former 3rd grade teacher at Palm Valley School, is charged with 21 felonies, including 19 counts of rape. He is set to return to court on
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MURRIETA, Calif. (KESQ) – Jurors convicted a 21-year-old man of false imprisonment for attacking a Thermal girl on her way home from school, but were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on a sexual assault charge and another count, resulting in a mistrial for those felonies. The Murrieta jury weighing the fate of Christian Daniel
Continue Reading INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – The former drummer of the indie power-pop group the New Pornographers is scheduled to appear in court this week for allegedly possessing child pornography and recording a minor in a public restroom. Â Â Joseph Seiders, 44, of Palm Desert, was arrested April 9 following an investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff’s
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DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Cali (KESQ) – Update: An 8-year-old girl abducted by her father was safely recovered early Friday morning following a vehicle pursuit that ended in Palm Desert, authorities said. Oscar Landeros, 33, took his daughter during a limited court-ordered visit Thursday evening and made threats to harm himself and the child, according to
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