Lake Elsinore Man Accused Of Sex Crimes With Children

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A Lake Elsinore man suspected of lewd acts with underage girls remained jailed Thursday in lieu of $1 million bail.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department announced Wednesday that Jose Luis Rodriguez, 40, was taken into custody following an investigation that began Feb. 1 into "a past lewd act on a child" at a home in the 33000 block of Jamieson Street in Lake Elsinore.

As the investigation continued, it was determined that Rodriguez "had committed lewd acts on multiple juveniles," according to sheriff's Sgt. Julio Olguin.

Investigators called Rodriguez, who agreed to come into the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station for an interview. Jail records show he was arrested at the station at 9:30 p.m. Feb. 11.

Rodriguez has been formally charged with three counts of lewd acts on a minor, two counts each of forcible rape of a minor and forced oral copulation of a child, and one count of contacting a child for the purposes of perpetrating a sexual offense.

The defendant's alleged encounters with the two victims, identified in court documents only as "I.R." and "S.O.," occurred over a nine-year period. It's not clear what his relationship with the girls was.

Rodriguez was booked into Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta and is slated to make his initial court appearance Friday at the Southwest Justice Center. He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

—City News Service contributed to this report.