A convicted felon accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a young family member in Moreno Valley was charged Tuesday with rape of a minor and other felonies.

Jesus Alfredo Mejia, 33, was arrested Friday following an investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Along with rape, Mejia is charged with more than a dozen other offenses, including aggravated sexual assault of a child, lewd acts on a minor, penetration by violence and oral copulation by force or fear.

He’s being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside and is slated to make his initial court appearance Wednesday at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Ed Baeza, last month, detectives were alerted to possible acts of child molestation involving the defendant at a residence in the 15000 block of Carolina Avenue.

Over a roughly four-week investigation, detectives gathered evidence indicating Mejia allegedly had been sexually abusing the victim, identified only as a young girl related to him, for an unspecified period of time, according to sheriff’s officials.

Child pornography was also in the defendant’s possession, Baeza alleged, but it was unclear whether any of the material included photographs or video of the victim.

According to court records, Mejia has a prior conviction for obstruction of a law enforcement officer. Records also revealed that he had been charged in 2003 with sexual assault and domestic violence, but the charges were dropped months later without explanation.

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