Alleged Child Sexual Assault In Moreno Valley: Charges Pending

MORENO VALLEY, CA — Felony charges are expected to be filed Wednesday against a 55-year-old man suspected of sexually assaulting a Moreno Valley girl and perpetrating similar assaults in other locations.

David Anthony Padilla was arrested and booked into the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on Friday on suspicion of lewd acts on a minor.

Padilla is being held on $500,000 bail.

According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, detectives received information last week that the suspect had allegedly committed unspecified lascivious acts on a child in the 11000 block of Hummingbird Place, near Swan Street, in Moreno Valley.

Sheriff's Investigator James Merrill said sufficient evidence was gathered to obtain an arrest warrant for Padilla, who was taken into custody without incident Friday night at the intersection of Swan and Pigeon Pass Road.

The circumstances behind the alleged assault, including the suspect's relationship, if any, to the victim, whose identity was not released, were not disclosed.

Merrill said Padilla is additionally under investigation for alleged sexual assaults in the city of Upland and in Hawaii.

Background information on the suspect was unavailable.

Anyone with information relevant to the investigation was asked to contact the sheriff's Moreno Valley station at 951-486-6700.