Sexual Assault by On-Duty Police Officer 

August 13, 2025 – Riverside County Sheriff’s Office officials report that in July 2025, the Riverside Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit (SVU) was contacted by the Menifee Police Department regarding a sexual assault investigation. They advised that one of their officers, Juan Pesina, a 31-year-old resident of Menifee, was accused of sexually assaulting a victim during an on-duty investigation. During the course of our investigation, additional victims were identified in incidents that had occurred in Riverside County between 2023 and 2024. Investigators determined that Pesina encountered these victims while on duty and off duty.

On August 12, 2025, SVU Investigators, with the assistance of the Riverside Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit, arrested Pesina at the Southwest Justice Center on Auld Road, Murrieta, without incident. A search warrant was served at his residence in the city of Menifee and his workplace, where additional evidence was located. Pesina was booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center for multiple felony charges, including rape, sodomy, and forced oral copulation.

This is an ongoing investigation, and no additional details are available at this time.

The Riverside Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit believes there may be additional victims and encourages anyone with more information regarding this investigation to contact Master Investigator J. Andrade at (951) 955-1701 or Sheriff’s Dispatch by calling 951-776-1099.

Reporting Supervisor: Sergeant Jim Peters

File: MB252050002

Source: Riverside County Sheriff’s Office