A 49-year-old man who admitted sexually assaulting five girls in Riverside was sentenced Friday, April 7 to 335 years in prison.
Eliezer Job Mendoza Quevedo pleaded guilty in February to 17 felony offenses, including forcible lewd acts on a child, oral copulation of a minor under 10 years old and attempted aggravated sexual assault of a child.
The admissions were not part of a plea deal and were made after jury selection had been completed for Quevedo’s trial at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Hollenhorst questioned the defendant at the time about the change of plea to determine whether he understood his rights, and according to court minutes, Quevedo acknowledged comprehension of the consequences of his guilty plea.
During the defendant’s sentencing hearing Friday, Hollenhorst imposed the maximum term of imprisonment for all counts.
According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney’s Office, Quevedo targeted the girls on multiple occasions between 2004 and 2016. The children were between 8 and 10 years old at the time.
The brief described instances when the defendant found ways to be alone with the girls.
The investigation didn’t begin in earnest until April 2021, when one of the girls approached the Riverside Police Department detectives at the age of 19, after being encouraged by counselors to speak out, according to court papers.
Quevedo was taken into custody on April 16, 2021.
He had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
