DHS Man Sentenced For Possessing Sexual Images Of Minor

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CA — A Desert Hot Springs man was sentenced to a work release program and approximately two years of formal probation Tuesday for possessing sexual images of a minor.

Pedro Alfredo Elizalde pleaded guilty July 3 to one felony count of possessing matter depicting a minor in a sexual act, according to court records. He additionally admitted to sentence enhancements of images portraying a minor sexually and images of a minor under 12 years old.

He was sentenced to 360 days of a work release program and to formal probation until Aug. 7, 2025, according to court records.

Police detectives and the Riverside County District Attorney's Office Child Exploitation Team investigated the online exploitation of children by a suspect in Desert Hot Springs, according to Christopher Saucier of the Desert Hot Springs Police Department.

Saucier said detectives authored various search warrants and identified Elizalde as the suspect. Police did not specify what was found during the search at his residence.

Elizalde was arrested in Banning the morning of Oct. 11, 2022, and was taken back to his residence in Desert Hot Springs, where detectives executed a search warrant, according to Saucier.