Cathedral City man pleads guilty to lewd acts with stepsister

A man who was arrested in Arizona last summer after abducting his 12-year-old stepsister from their Cathedral City home pleaded guilty Monday to committing multiple lewd acts with the girl over the course of several months.

A June 7 sentencing date is set for 22-year-old Michael Patrick Malloch Jr. of Cathedral City, who entered into a plea deal on the day of his scheduled preliminary hearing. He had previously pleaded not guilty to committing three or more lewd acts with the girl between November 2014 and June 2015.

Malloch and his stepsister were discovered missing from their Cathedral City home last June 22 about 7 a.m. In a declaration filed in support of an arrest warrant, Cathedral City police Detective Alirio Moulin alleged that Malloch abducted the girl sometime in the middle of the night, after penning two suicide notes discovered that night by his stepmother.

Relatives told investigators that Malloch had a history of depression and alcoholism and was prone to self-mutilation, Moulin wrote.

After the girl’s parents called authorities, investigators tracking cell phone and credit card usage determined the pair were in Arizona and likely headed to the East Coast in a gold Subaru Legacy. The information was passed to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which issued an Amber Alert in that
state.

At some point, Malloch turned off his cell phone and began using cash in an effort to conceal their whereabouts, police said in a declaration requesting higher bail.

Officers in Arizona found the vehicle on a rural highway north of Page. The girl was rescued safely and Malloch was arrested. He waived extradition on June 26, and was picked up two weeks later by local authorities and brought back to Riverside County.