Eight felony counts of sexual crimes filed against PD officer

Menifee Police Officer Juan Pesina was charged on Thursday with eight counts of sexual crimes.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The arraignment for a Menifee Police officer who was officially charged Thursday with eight felony counts of sexual assault and other offenses was postponed until Sept. 2 at the request of the defense, the District Attorney’s Office said.

At that time, Juan Jose Pesina, 32, of Menifee will be required to enter pleas to charges including rape, sodomy, oral copulation, assault with intent to commit rape, and burglary. These charges are related to incidents involving female victims in February 2023 and January 2024 – one of the females being between the ages of 14 and 17, according to the criminal complaint filed Thursday. Pesina, who joined Menifee PD in December 2022, has been placed on administrative leave.

In one of the five counts involving an alleged 2023 victim referred to as Jane Doe J.H., a minor, the criminal complaint states that the defendant “did willfully and unlawfully enter a certain building, to wit, an inhabited dwelling house” on Briggs Road in Menifee “with intent to commit theft and a felony.”

Counts 6-8 describe sexual crimes allegedly committed by Pesina in 2024 against an adult female, referred to a Jane Doe C.R. In listing “aggravating factors” in the charges, it is alleged that both victims were “particularly vulnerable within the meaning of California Rules of Court, rule 4.421(a)(3)”. It is further alleged that Pesina “took advantage of a position of trust and confidence to commit the crime within the meaning of California Rules of Court, rule 4.421(a)(11).”

A press release posted Wednesday by the Menifee Police Department stated that a complaint was made to the department on July 22 of this year and that at the request of Menifee PD, an investigation begun on July 24 by the Riverside Sheriff’s Department “determined there was sufficient probable cause” to arrest Pesina. There was no mention in that release that investigators implicated Pesina in two separate incidents in 2023 and 2024, nor was there any mention of the Sheriff’s Department’s report that Pesina “was accused of sexually assaulting a victim during an on-duty investigation.”

Pesina is being held without bail at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. His rescheduled arraignment is set for 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 2 at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.

The criminal complaint also alleges that “the offense involved great violence, great bodily harm, threat of great bodily harm, or other acts disclosing a high degree of cruelty, viciousness, or callousness …” It is further alleged that Pesina “engaged in violent conduct, to wit: After returning a victim of domestic violence to her home, defendant “entered her home and forcibly sexually assaulted her…”

In addition, the criminal complaint states that evidence of the defendant’s “commission of other acts of sexual offenses” may be admissible at trial. “These incidents include the prior incident(s) described in the police report, chronological report, and/or tapes already provided, and other alleged incidents of abuse, which will be provided as they are obtained by the prosecution.”

No charges were filed Thursday relating to any sexual crimes in 2025, but the Sheriff’s Department news release quotes Sgt. Jim Peters as saying, “During the course of our investigation, additional victims were identified in incidents that had occurred in Riverside County between 2023 and 2024. Investigators determined that Pesina encountered these victims while on duty and off duty.”

Multiple sources within Menifee PD told Menifee 24/7 that Pesina was previously on administrative leave but was later reinstated because the allegations were "unfounded." Neither Police Chief Chris Karrer nor city manager Armando Villa responded to requests for comment about that allegation. Neither have they responded to a request for comment about allegations that a Menifee PD officer was recently cited by a CHP officer on suspicion of DUI.

Moreover, there has been no response from City or PD officials about whether there are still internal investigations taking place regarding allegations made by 11 current and former Menifee Police officers of misconduct within the department, as reported previously by Menifee 24/7.