Indio man pleads not guilty to molesting kids

An Indio man pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of repeatedly molesting an 8-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy who lived with him.

Pastor Galvez Majano, 39, was ordered this month to stand trial on five counts of lewd acts with a child under 14, and one count each of committing three or more lewd acts with a child under 14, willful child cruelty, and inflicting an injury on a child under 10.

Majano, who is free on $350,000 bail, also faces numerous sentence-enhancing allegations. He’s scheduled to appear in court again Dec. 7 for a trial-readiness conference.

The crimes are alleged to have occurred from June to early November 2013 at an Indio studio apartment that Majano shared with his girlfriend and the children, identified as Jane and John Doe.

During Majano’s Oct. 9 preliminary hearing at the Larson Justice Center, Indio police Detective Kelly Hawkins testified that the girl told investigators that she was repeatedly beaten and fondled by the defendant.

She also told investigators that she witnessed the defendant sexually assault the toddler, identified only as “John Doe,” on numerous occasions.

“I think her words were `every day,”’ Hawkins testified.

On one occasion, the girl said Majano spotted her witnessing the sexual acts through an open bathroom door, after which he stopped the sex act, and ordered her to come over, according to Hawkins.

She claimed Majano punched her several times in the chest and said: “If you tell anyone, I’ll send you away,” the detective said.

During cross-examination, Deputy Public Defender Benjamin Schiff asked the detective if he had suspicions about the girl’s credibility, given that she said Majano’s girlfriend was in the apartment watching television during many of the alleged crimes.

“For the spouse to pretend it’s not happening, that is not unusual in my investigations at all,” Hawkins said.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Anthony R. Villalobos ruled after the hearing that there was probable cause to send the case to trial.