A 21-year-old man who engaged in sex acts with two teenage girls in Lake Elsinore pleaded guilty Thursday to felony charges.
Emilio Esteban Ronquillo of Riverside admitted oral copulation of a minor and committing a felony offense while on bail under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors agreed to drop two related charges against Ronquillo.
Superior Court Judge Stephen Gallon scheduled a sentencing hearing for Jan. 22 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta. The specified term of imprisonment under the plea deal is four years, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Ronquillo remains free on a $30,000 bond.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Thomas, last December, deputies at the Lake Elsinore station received reports of a sexual assault on a runaway girl, identified in court documents only as Jane Doe.
The investigation resulted in allegations that Ronquillo had facilitated the victim’s flight and “harbored the juvenile for two days before returning the victim home,” Thomas said.
He said deputies arrested the defendant for his alleged assault on the teenager, but Ronquillo was able to post bond and was released from custody around the start of the year.
“In January, another juvenile victim came forward and disclosed (she was) a victim of sexual assault by Ronquillo,” the sergeant said.
No details were released concerning how the defendant had come into contact with the second girl, identified in documents only as “K.H.”
The ensuing investigation culminated in his arrest in mid-February at a Hemet business.
Ronquillo has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.