An Indio man who sexually assaulted a teenage relative pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of forcible rape, ending the possibility of his being retried on multiple related charges.
Miguel Pedrero Tzompantzi, 40, admitted the felony count Thursday under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors agreed to drop two counts of rape and two counts of sexual battery against Tzompantzi.
An Indio jury in September deadlocked on those counts during deliberations in his trial. Jurors, however, acquitted him of four counts of rape of a minor, and they convicted him of a misdemeanor charge of annoying a child.
The plea deal terminated the necessity of a retrial. Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Tucker scheduled a sentencing hearing for Jan. 6 at the Larson Justice Center. A prospective term of imprisonment was not disclosed.
The defendant is being held without bail at the Benoit Detention Center.
“This inexperienced child, who was at the will of an adult, was psychologically and physically abused for eight months,” Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Stevenson told jurors in her closing argument in September.
The prosecutor recalled how the then-16-year-old victim was entirely dependent on Tzompantzi for everything, having been sent to live with him, along with her siblings, while her parents, both Mexican nationals, remained in their country.
The abuse began in October 2022 with the defendant allegedly knocking the girl to the floor, dragging her into his bedroom, holding her down and raping her, according to the prosecution. After that, there were further instances of sexual assault, continuing until May 2023, by which time the victim was pregnant, Stevenson alleged.
Tzompantzi insisted that he and the then-teenager were in a relationship, according to testimony.
An Indio Police Department arrest warrant declaration filed in 2023 said the teen was threatened by Tzompantzi, who told her that if she revealed what had been going on, “he would deny it and blame her for everything,” additionally asserting “no one wanted her, and that is why she was living with him.”
The allegations surfaced after the teen was seven months pregnant and had told her parents about the assaults.
Deputy Public Defender Stephen Sadocha told jurors “it was a consensual relationship that turned sexual.”
“He was taking care of her — buying her food, taking her shopping,” the attorney said.
He questioned the legitimacy of the girl’s testimony and statements to law enforcement.
“For eight months, there was no one suspicious about her behavior,” Sadocha said. “Not one person reported (anything) suspicious, not a teacher or a counselor.”
Tzompantzi had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.