Deliberations begin in trial of man accused of raping women, assaulting girl

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) - Jury deliberations got underway today in the trial of a 43-year-old Banning man accused of raping two women on separate occasions while they were intoxicated, as well as molesting a 12-year-old girl.

Steven Roy McElroy was arrested in 2022 following a Banning Police Department investigation that relied on statements from alleged victims going back a decade. McElroy is charged with two counts each of forcible rape and aggravated assault, as well as one count of lewd acts on a minor.

The prosecution and defense delivered closing arguments at the Banning Justice Center Monday morning, after which Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Singerton sent jurors behind closed doors to begin weighing evidence from the two-week trial.

McElroy is free on a $1 million bond.

The defendant was charged for the alleged assault on the 12-year-old girl, identified in court documents in March 2022. Detectives received information afterward concerning two women who alleged they had been sexually assaulted by him on different occasions in 2015 and 2016.

According to Detective Jack Loera, the two women heard about the child molestation charge and decided to speak to police.     

McElroy has a felony conviction in another jurisdiction that wasn't listed in court records.