Crime & Safety
Lake Elsinore Man Pleads 'Not Guilty' To Sexual Assault Charges
Thomas Joseph Hernandez, 27 of Lake Elsinore, is out on $55,000 bond after being arrested in May on suspicion of sexually molesting a minor.
LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A 27-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting a Lake Elsinore girl pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony charges.
Thomas Joseph Hernandez of Lake Elsinore was arrested earlier this year following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation.
Hernandez is charged with sexual penetration of a minor with a foreign object and contacting a minor with intent to commit a sex crime.
Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
He was arraigned before Superior Court Judge Elaine Kiefer, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Dec. 1 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
The defendant is free on a $55,000 bond.
Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
According to sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Reese, investigators learned of the alleged illicit encounters between Hernandez and the victim, whose identity was not released, after unnamed parties alerted them in early May.
Reese said sufficient evidence was gathered to justify an arrest warrant, and Hernandez was taken into custody without incident at his residence on Westlynn Drive on May 12.
The circumstances behind the alleged offenses, including how Hernandez and the victim met, were not disclosed.
The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
