Man, 80, Charged With 9 Counts Of Child Sex Abuse In Murrieta Case

MURRIETA, CA — An 80-year-old man accused of repeatedly sexually molesting a young relative when she stayed with him in Murrieta was charged Friday with nine counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old.

Jesus Zavala was arrested last week when he tried to reenter the U.S. from Mexico, where he had allegedly fled earlier this year in the face of the allegations of sexual abuse.

Zavala, who is being held on $3 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center, was slated to make his initial court appearance Friday afternoon at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.

According to a Murrieta police statement, the victim, identified in court documents only as "A.L.," revealed last December that Zavala had allegedly molested her between 2018 and 2020, prompting an investigation by the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services and the police department.

The specific circumstances behind the alleged sexual abuse, and Zavala's relationship to the victim, were not disclosed.

Court papers alleged that the defendant fondled her privates and rubbed her chest on different occasions.

Investigators said that sufficient evidence was gathered to obtain a warrant for Zavala's arrest. However, before it could be served, he "fled to Mexico, where he remained and avoided capture," according to the police department.

It's unknown what led him to return to the U.S., where he was apprehended by Border Patrol agents at the Tecate Road Crossing on Aug. 10. He was turned over to Murrieta police officers a few days later based on the fugitive warrant.