Jurors acquit Palm Desert man of several sex abuse charges, deadlock on others

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) - Jurors in the trial of a 67-year-old Palm Desert man accused of sexually abusing three children acquitted him today of a few charges but deadlocked on others, likely setting the stage for a retrial on the unresolved allegations.

Following two days of deliberations, a Banning jury on Wednesday found Oscar William Alvarez not guilty of one count each of sodomy of a minor, annoying a minor and lewd acts on a child under 14 years old. The jury, however, was unable to reach unanimous verdicts on five remaining counts of lewd acts on a child, as well as  sentence-enhancing allegations of victimizing more than one person in sex crimes.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz declared a mistrial on the undecided charges and set a retrial conference for April 8 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Prosecutors will announce then whether they intend to proceed with retrying all five of the unresolved counts with the enhancements.

Alvarez remains held without bail at the Benoit Detention Center.

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 was arrested without incident on Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage on Aug. 16, 2023.

He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.