A Riverside husband and wife accused of sexually abusing a boy and girl a decade ago pleaded not guilty Thursday to multiple felony charges.
Jose Cruz Martinez, 47, and Dawn Renee Johnson, 48, were arrested in January following a Riverside Police Department investigation.
Martinez is charged with eight counts of lewd acts on a child and four counts of unlawful intercourse with a minor, with a sentence-enhancing allegation of targeting multiple victims in a sex crime.
Johnson is charged with four counts each of forcible lewd acts on a child and unlawful intercourse with a minor.
They were jointly arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gail O’Rane, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for June 21 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Each defendant is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.
According to Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback, the couple allegedly targeted the victims, whose names were not disclosed, in the early 2010s while they were involved in youth programs at a church, which wasn’t named.
Specific details regarding the alleged offenses and the circumstances were not provided.
Court records show Martinez has a prior misdemeanor conviction for driving on a suspended license, while Johnson has no documented priors in Riverside County.