Felon Admits Sexually Harassing Teens At Temecula Mall, Awaits Sentencing

TEMECULA, CA — A convicted sex offender who pleaded guilty to sexually harassing girls shopping at a Temecula mall is slated to be sentenced to probation Monday. He likely faces extradition to Texas for alleged offenses committed there, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

Joshua Michael Wafer, 32, of Hemet, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of annoying minors, as well as a single count of resisting arrest, all misdemeanors. That plea was directly to Riverside County Superior Court Judge Kay Kiel, without input from the District Attorney's Office.

A sentencing hearing was slated for Monday at the Banning Justice Center, and while Wafer remained free on a $50,000 bond, he is facing mandatory supervision.

Court records indicated the defendant has an outstanding arrest warrant in Texas for alleged acts of indecent exposure in the last two years. It was not immediately known whether authorities in the Lone Star State intended to seek his extradition.

On the afternoon of May 31, 2025, two 14-year-old girls were shopping together at the Promenade Mall in the 40000 block of Winchester Road, and were getting off the escalator when Wafer accosted them, according to a bail-setting affidavit filed by sheriff's investigators.

"He displayed a pornographic video on his cell phone and made sexual gestures with his tongue, directed at the victims," the affidavit stated. "The porn was male and female. They were fully naked and were engaging in sexual intercourse. Wafer was smiling when he showed them the porn."

One of the girls told detectives that it was obvious "Wafer was simulating oral sex to her" by flicking his tongue, according to court papers.

A boy who happened to witness the behavior pulled out his mobile phone and captured the latter part of the encounter via video, then snapped pictures of Wafer as the girls hastily walked away from him, according to investigators.

The images were provided to mall security. Detectives then processed the photos and quickly located Wafer in a crime database stemming from a prior conviction, according to the sheriff's department.

The victims and witnesses all positively identified him.

An arrest warrant was served on Wafer three days later at his residence on Auld Avenue, where he was taken into custody without incident. The resisting arrest conviction related to his lack of cooperation with authorities in November, when he was arrested for indecent exposure in Hemet.

That case was disposed of and folded into the plea agreement approved by the court last month.

Court records show that Wafer has a documented prior conviction for sexual battery in Washington, D.C. His conviction in that case required him to register as a sex offender.