The court hearing for a Menifee Police Department officer facing 15 counts of sexual assault and related charges has been postponed for another seven weeks.
Juan Pesina Jr. was scheduled for a felony settlement conference Tuesday at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, but the conference was held over until Jan. 26. There were two postponed arraignments and now a postponed felony settlement conference for Pesina, who was arrested on Aug. 12.
Pesina faces felony charges of rape, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual battery, assault with intent to commit rape, burglary, and extortion in incidents involving five female victims between February 2023 and August 2025. He is being held without bail at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
Pesina, who entered not guilty pleas to all counts, is on unpaid administrative leave from Menifee PD. According to the criminal complaint filed by the District Attorney’s office, the crimes alleged against Pesina occurred while he was on active duty with Menifee PD. The investigation of those allegations is being handled by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Details from the criminal complaint of Pesina’s alleged actions can be found in this Sept. 29 Menifee 24/7 report.
In addition to the new felony settlement conference date, the court has scheduled a Feb. 9 date for two other actions. The first is a “preliminary hearing long cause”, which indicates the hearing is expected to last more than one day in court.
The second is a hearing regarding a “conditional exam.” Although she can’t speak to specifics of that hearing, Molly Smith of the DA’s Office said that, “A conditional exam is when the prosecution calls a crucial witness to provide their full testimony before a jury trial due to age, ailments, leaving the state, etc.
“Witnesses called during a preliminary hearing typically are not fully examined and reserve their full testimony for the jury trial. A conditional exam allows them to testify sooner, and their statements will be provided to the jury at the appropriate time in the future.”
