A janitor who works for the Riverside Unified School District has been charged with 19 felonies, including lewd acts on a minor younger than 14 years old, Riverside County Superior Court records show. A sheriff’s deputy investigating the case said there could be as many as 21 victims.
Mario Moralez Guadalupe, a 31-year-old Riverside resident, has been placed on administrative leave, said Elizabeth Pinney-Muglia, a school district spokeswoman.
Pinney-Muglia said sheriff’s investigators told district officials that none of their students are among the alleged victims. But the Sheriff’s Department, as well as the District Attorney’s Office, declined to confirm or refute that assertion on Thursday, Feb. 13, citing the ongoing investigation.
Pinney-Muglia took a week to respond to a Southern California News Group reporter’s repeated inquiries sent by phone and email and left in person. She had little else to say about Guadalupe, declining to provide routinely released information about employees such as his title, job duties or names of the schools where he works.
She also would not supply a copy of any communication sent to parents or employees about the case. Penney-Muglia declined to explain why she would not provide the information.
Guadalupe was identified as a janitor for the district in a sworn declaration written by Deputy Carlos Lucas to Superior Court Judge John M. Monterosso in a successful attempt to increase Guadalupe’s bail.
District Superintendent Renee Hill did not immediately reply to an email inquiry Thursday.
SCNG learned about Guadalupe’s Jan. 15 arrest from an anonymous tip.
Guadalupe pleaded not guilty on Jan. 17 at Southwest Justice Center in French Valley to four counts each of lewd acts on a minor younger than 14, oral copulation, sexual penetration of a minor and contacting a minor for sex; and one count each of aggravated sexual assault on a minor, kidnap for robbery or rape and sending harmful matter to a child.
The Public Defender’s Office is representing Guadalupe. No one answered the door Thursday at the address listed for him in court records near Orange Terrace Community Park. A message was left seeking comment.
Guadalupe is being held at Cois M. Byrd Detention Center in French Valley in lieu of $1.22 million bail. The criminal complaint says he could face life in prison if convicted on all charges.
Most details about the case are hidden after Deputy Lucas asked a judge to place that information under seal to avoid compromising the investigation and to protect the identity of a confidential informant.
“We have identified approximately 21 victims which we are working to identify,” Lucas wrote in the bail declaration.
The same document says Guadalupe made “suicidal statements.”
The crimes are alleged to have occurred in December 2023, according to the criminal complaint filed by the DA’s Office.
