Former local school employee charged with sexually assaulting a child between 1996 to 1998
A former employee of the Desert Sands Unified School District was charged with sexually assaulting a child 25 years ago.
Manuel Arseo Patino, 62, was arrested on Thursday on the 42500 block of Deep Canyon Road in Palm Desert.
Patino was arraigned in court on Monday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. He pled not guilty to one count of oral copulation and one count of sexual penetration.
DSUSD spokesperson Mary Perry confirmed Patino worked for the district from Nov. 8, 1989 to Dec. 1, 1998.
According to the criminal complaint, Patino is accused of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 14 between May 1996 and May 1998. There was no word in the complaint whether the incident involved a student.
We've reached out to the Indio Police Department for additional details on the investigation.
Patino remains in jail at the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio on $2 million bail. He is scheduled to return to court on August 31.
Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates.
