A 52-year-old high school teacher accused of sexually assaulting a girl multiple times in Riverside and Redlands pleaded not guilty Friday to forcible lewd acts on a child under 14 years old and other offenses.
Elvin Paul Vereau of Riverside was arrested earlier this month following an investigation by the Riverside Police Department’s Sexual Assault/Child Abuse unit.
Along with the two lewd acts counts, Vereau is charged with forcible sexual penetration of a minor, false imprisonment and perpetrating three or more sexual acts on a child.
The defendant was arraigned Friday before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Sam Shouka, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for July 10 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Vereau is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
According to the police department and court records, Vereau, a contract “special academic instructor” for the Redlands Unified School District, came under investigation in early May after patrol officers were sent to investigate reports of a family disturbance at his residence in the Orangecrest neighborhood.
Officer Ryan Railsback said that while the patrolmen were questioning members of the household about the conflict, “they learned a female juvenile had been sexually abused by Vereau over several years.”
Court documents did not specify the exact relationship between the girl, identified only as “T.R.,” and the defendant, saying only that he took “advantage of a position of trust to commit the offenses.”
The alleged assaults were interspersed, beginning in August 2012 and ending in May 2025, records showed.
Railsback said the case was turned over to SACA detectives who conducted follow-up interviews, gathering sufficient evidence to arrest Vereau after he went to the department’s Magnolia Station for further questioning on May 13.
“These alleged crimes occurred in both Riverside and Redlands, and investigators believe there may be additional victims who have not yet come forward,” Railsback said.
He said Vereau’s most recent teaching assignment was at Citrus Valley High School in Redlands.
The defendant is now on administrative leave.
He has no documented prior felony convictions in California.
Anyone with details relevant to the investigation was urged to contact SACA at 951-353-7609.