A Cathedral City man who molested two preteen boys sent to stay with him is slated to be sentenced in June to 16 years in state prison, prosecutors confirmed Monday.
David Hadley Pio, 67, on Friday admitted two counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old under a pretrial agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for Pio’s admissions, prosecutors agreed to drop two related felony charges against the defendant.
Superior Court Judge Dean Benjamini scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 12 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Pio is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
His case has been pending adjudication for more than a decade. It was unclear how much of his time in county jail may be credited toward his prison sentence. It’s possible he may receive only a “paper” prison commitment, avoiding further time behind bars.
According to an arrest warrant declaration filed by the Cathedral City Police Department in the summer of 2012, Pio’s victims were brothers, identified only as “Andres A.” and “Miguel A.”
In 2010, their mother was experiencing financial difficulties, and after she discussed her troubles with a person who was a close personal friend of hers and Pio’s, the individual, whose identity wasn’t disclosed, put them in touch, according to the declaration.
Pio offered to take the youths into his home, stating it would be beneficial for them to have a “father figure” while their mom got back on her feet, court papers said. Along with Andres and Miguel, there was another sibling whose identity was not revealed. He apparently did not make any allegations after he spent time at Pio’s home.
The other two minors said there were instances when Pio touched their privates, and one of the boys, who was 13 at the time, said he was forced to take showers with the defendant, who masturbated in front of him.
“He would tell (the victim) that he was handsome and that he loved him,” the declaration stated.
The boy said there were “so many incidents of touching he couldn’t give it a number,” according to the document.
“He said it occurred `almost every day,”’ the affidavit said.
Pio showed the boy pornographic videos on two occasions, and the youth walked in on Pio watching porn “numerous” times, according to the affidavit, which added the videos showed children as young as 8.
When detectives served a search warrant at Pio’s home in July 2012, they seized computers and other electronic devices loaded with child porn, police said.
Pio was arrested without incident on July 17, 2012.
In 1994, he was arrested on suspicion of lewd conduct, penetration with a foreign object and forcible sodomy on a person under 14, but that case was later dismissed for reasons not detailed in court records.
The defendant had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.