A Menifee policeman accused of sexually assaulting two women, including a domestic violence victim, is slated for arraignment Tuesday on more than a half dozen felony charges.
Juan Jose Pesina Jr., 32, of Murrieta was arrested last month following a two-week investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Unit.
Pesina is charged with forcible rape, felony sexual battery, attempted forcible sodomy, first-degree burglary, forced oral copulation, attempted forced oral copulation and two counts of assault with intent to commit rape. He also faces sentence-enhancing allegations of perpetrating sexual offenses during a burglary. Investigators believe some of those offenses took place while the defendant was on duty.
Menifee police released a statement soon after Pesina’s arrest, saying its Professional Standards Unit had received a complaint from a woman on July 22. She said the officer had sexually abused her two years earlier.
“A preliminary internal investigation was immediately conducted,” Menifee police Sgt. Raul Perez said. “In order to ensure a fair, thorough and impartial investigation, the department requested an independent criminal investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.”
Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Peters said MPD Internal Affairs detectives informed the Special Victims Unit that “Pesina was accused of sexually assaulting a victim during an on-duty investigation.”
“During the course of our investigation, additional victims were identified in incidents that had occurred between 2023 and 2024,” Peters said.
The victims in the case, identified only as “C.R.” and “J.H.,” were allegedly assaulted in February 2023 and January 2024, according to the criminal complaint against Pesina.
J.H. was Pesina’s first alleged target, court papers stated. The defendant allegedly accessed her property illegally and perpetrated multiple sexual offenses over an unspecified period, according to the prosecution.
C.R. was allegedly victimized 11 months later, suffering similar abuse, according to court documents.
Pesina made his initial court appearance on Aug. 14 before Superior Court Judge Judith Clark. A public defender was appointed to represent him, and he was ordered to return for arraignment on Sept. 2 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
He’s being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. The officer is on unpaid administrative leave from his position at the Menifee Police Department.
If convicted, he could face life in prison with the possibility of parole.
The police department did not disclose when Pesina was hired, or in specifically what capacities he had worked, other than patrol.