A 32-year-old woman suspected of facilitating repeated acts of sexual abuse against a Coachella Valley girl at the hands of a Palm Springs man was being held without bail Saturday.
Aura Rivera Vidal of Coachella was arrested and booked into the Benoit Detention Center in Indio Thursday on suspicion of child endangerment, witness intimidation and driving without a license.
According to Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Christopher Ternes, the investigation of Vidal was initiated after the arrest of 45-year-old Jesus Lucio Rivera, who is charged with two counts each of aggravated sexual assault of child, forcible rape of a minor and lewd acts on a child under 14 years old.
Ternes said Rivera came to the attention of detectives at the end of January based on allegations of repeated molestation of the victim, identified in court documents only as “Jane Doe,” who resided in the unincorporated area of Desert Hot Springs.
Court papers allege that between October 2017 and April 2019, the defendant perpetrated the offenses at the residence.
Rivera’s relationship to the girl, if any, was not disclosed.
He was arrested on Feb. 10 and pleaded not guilty earlier this week to all six counts. He’s being held on $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
Ternes said the ensuing investigation of Vidal revealed that she was allegedly aware of “the crimes Rivera committed, and she was responsible for the well-being of the victim during the period the victim was sexually assaulted.”
Vidal’s relationship to the child also was not divulged.
Neither she nor Rivera has documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.