Police Seek Victims After RivCo Man Charged With Attempted Rape

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A 22-year-old probationer with a long rap sheet accused of trying to sexually assault a Riverside girl at a recreational facility is suspected of a similar offense at Lake Perris and may be involved in other attacks, prompting police Tuesday to ask anyone with information to come forward.

Robert Willie Bates of Hemet was arrested May 24 following a Riverside Police Department investigation into an alleged assault at the Orange Terrace Park Community Center in April, according to the department.

Bates pleaded not guilty Thursday to attempted rape, contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sexual offense, a sentence-enhancing weapons allegation and probation violations.

The convicted felon is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta and is slated to appear for a felony settlement conference at the Riverside Hall of Justice on June 8.

According to Riverside police, on the afternoon of April 15, Bates allegedly confronted a teenage girl, identified in court documents only as "L.H.," at the community center, brandished an Airsoft pistol, which fires plastic projectiles, and tried to force himself on her.

The teen resisted and got away from him, investigators said.

Patrol officers were called to the location, but the defendant had fled by the time they got there, police alleged.

It's believed that Bates tried to assault another girl at Lake Perris around the same time, but he hasn't been charged in that case, which is being investigated by rangers from California State Parks.

Riverside police Sexual Assault-Child Abuse unit detectives suspect other girls may have been preyed upon by the defendant, and they're asking anyone with information to contact the unit or whichever law enforcement agency has jurisdiction.

The SACA unit can be reached at 951-353-7213.

According to court documents, Bates has an extensive criminal record going back to 2018, with convictions in adult court for felony and misdemeanor vandalism, receiving a stolen vehicle, theft and violating a court order.

His juvenile record was not disclosed, but according to the criminal complaint filed in the community center case, "sustained petitions in juvenile delinquency proceedings ... are numerous."

The complaint also noted that the level of criminal activity attributed to the defendant is marked by "increasing seriousness."

Bates has not served time in state prison.