Palm Desert man who allegedly molested two 6-year-old girls pleads not guilty

More than a dozen felony counts, including lewd acts with a child under 14 and aggravated sexual assault of a child, were filed today against a Palm Desert man accused of repeatedly molesting his former roommate’s 6-year-old daughter, as well as another girl nearly two decades ago.

James Paul Adkins, 54, pled not guilty to the charges. He is set to return to court on July 23rd. His bail was reduced from $4.15 million to $2 million today.

Adkins was arrested Friday for allegedly molesting his then-roommate’s child between August 2013 and August 2015. He’s also accused of molesting a second girl between 2000 and 2001, according to the 14-count criminal complaint which lists them as Jane and Mary Do

Sheriff’s deputies began investigating Adkins on March 2, when his former roommate came forward to allege that Adkins molested her daughter. During the investigation, detectives uncovered previous allegations that he had molested another 6-year-old girl in Palm Desert, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Andrew Nielsen, who said investigators believe there may be additional victims.

Adkins, who’s being held in lieu of $4.15 million bail, was slated to make his initial court appearance this afternoon in Indio. He has no prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

Anyone with further information regarding the investigation was asked to call Investigator Sean Patrick of the Thermal sheriff’s station at (760) 863-8990 or Crime Stoppers at (760) 341-7867 to report anonymously.