A 45-year-old Lake Mathews man accused of sexually abusing three girls, at least one of whom was in the Riverside County foster care system, while his wife allegedly covered for him pleaded not guilty Thursday to lewd acts on a child and other offenses.
Christopher Gary Tilden was arrested last month following a county sheriff’s department investigation.
Along with three counts of lewd acts, Tilden is charged with indecent exposure and a sentence-enhancing allegation of targeting multiple victims in a sex crime.
He was arraigned before Superior Court Judge Gary Polk, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Jan. 15 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The defendant is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
His spouse, 43-year-old Katrina Frances Tilden, is charged with being an accessory after the fact. She’s free on a $35,000 bond and is scheduled for arraignment on Dec. 11.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Patrick Montalvo, agents from the Children’s Services Division of the county Department of Public Social Services notified deputies in September that they had received information regarding alleged abuse of three girls at the defendants’ residence, located in the area of Orangemont and Orchard View lanes.
It was not disclosed whether only one, or all three, of the alleged victims are in the foster care system.
“The juveniles stated that while attending a sleepover at a friend’s residence, they had been photographed and sexually assaulted,” Montalvo said.
Detectives followed up, coordinating with the District Attorney’s Office’s Child Exploitation Team to ultimately gather enough evidence to obtain search warrants that were served at the couple’s home on Oct. 24.
They also served a warrant at Tilden’s workplace near the intersection of King Avenue and Van Buren Boulevard in Riverside, where he was taken into custody without incident. Katrina Tilden was arrested in the same area.
The specific acts allegedly perpetrated by Tilden were not disclosed, nor were the children’s identities.
Neither he or his wife has documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.