Indio man charged with lewd acts with minor

A man allegedly found inside a car in La Quinta with a teenager he met over the internet was charged Friday with committing lewd or lascivious acts with a minor. Fernando Cancino, 26, of Indio, was arrested Tuesday night, after sheriff’s deputies say they found him and the victim inside a car in the area of La Palma Drive and Arosa Way.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Alan Northrup, the two were found at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday by sheriff’s deputies who searched the vehicle and found Cancino “engaging in lewd acts with the minor.”

A subsequent investigation revealed that Cancino met the victim through a social media website, according to the sergeant. Cancino is scheduled to face arraignment Friday afternoon for a charge specifying that the unidentified victim was 14 or 15 years old.

He was being held at the Riverside County jail in Indio in lieu of $55,000 bail.

Cancino has no prior felony convictions in Riverside County, according to court records.