Palm Springs man who assaulted girls across SoCal sentenced

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) - A Palm Springs man who sexually assaulted multiple girls throughout Riverside, Los Angeles and San Diego counties, enticing them with illegal drugs and using them to make child pornography, was sentenced today to 22 years in state prison.

Jesse James Garcia Airada, 29, pleaded guilty in August to two counts of rape, three counts of contacting a minor for the purpose of perpetrating a felony, and one count each of oral copulation of a minor, providing controlled substances to a child, using a minor to produce child porn and penetration with a foreign object, with a sentence-enhancing allegation of raping a minor.

The plea was negotiated with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, and partly in exchange for Airada's admissions, along with other factors, the agency dropped three dozen related charges against him.   

During the hearing at the Larson Justice Center in Indio Friday, Superior Court Judge Dean Benjamini imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense under the plea bargain.   

D.A.'s office spokeswoman Molly Smith emphasized that prosecutors met with the victims ahead of time to gauge their sentiments regarding the proposed outcome of the case.

"The terms in the agreement were created in a collective effort with the victims' voices at the forefront,'' Smith said. "Victims may have varying perspectives about participating in the criminal justice process, including concerns about testifying, revisiting traumatic experiences, or publicly acknowledging what they have endured. Those perspectives are important, and our office takes them into consideration when working toward a resolution."  

She pointed out that some of the counts against Airada were dropped due to "overlapping or duplicative conduct.''   

"Victims were relieved to know that we had reached a negotiated disposition that was not going to require them to be present in court at any point in time,'' Smith said.  

According to sheriff's Sgt. Chris Gelinas, in May 2025, deputies were alerted to an assault involving an eastern Coachella Valley girl, and during the investigation, Airada was identified as the assailant.

"It was learned the suspect had contacted multiple underage females and was offering illegal substances in exchange for sex,'' Gelinas said after the defendant's arrest last fall. "Investigators were able to identify multiple underage female victims throughout Riverside County."

Prosecutors said some of the girls were plied with marijuana and cocaine to gain their trust and cooperation.  

Assaults occurred from January 2024 to November 2025 in Riverside, Los Angeles and San Diego counties, according to the criminal complaint.   

Specific locations were not disclosed, and authorities didn't elaborate on how the defendant initiated communication with the minors.   

A search warrant was obtained and served on Airada last November at a property in the area of Lawrence Crossley Road and Highway 111, where he was taken into custody without incident.

He had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.