Testimony starts in trial of Palm Desert man accused of molesting girl, two boys

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) - Prosecution testimony got underway Thursday in the trial of a 67-year-old Palm Desert man accused of sexually abusing three children distantly related to him.  

Oscar William Alvarez is charged with six counts of lewd acts on a minor and one count each of oral copulation of a child, forcible sodomy of an underage person, annoying a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor with sentence-enhancing allegations of victimizing more than one person in sex crimes.   

The prosecution and defense delivered opening statements Wednesday at the Banning Justice Center, where the first witnesses summoned Thursday in the courtroom of Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz.   

Alvarez is being held without bail at the Benoit Detention Center in Indio.  

According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney's Office, the defendant allegedly targeted two boys and a girl. The alleged molestations and related acts occurred mainly in the 2010s, the brief stated.  

All of the allegations surfaced in 2023.   

Alvarez has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.