Native American man convicted of sexually assaulting Rancho Mirage woman

A man who sexually assaulted a woman in Rancho Mirage was sentenced today to three years in state prison.

Reginald Demond Macon Jr., 27, of Indio pleaded guilty to rape by force or fear in March as part of a deal with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his confession, prosecutors dropped three charges of similar crimes against the defendant.

During a hearing at the Larson Justice Center on Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Melissa Hale confirmed the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence set by the prosecution and defense.

According to Sgt. Dan Milbrandt of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, patrol officers were called to a trauma center in the Coachella Valley in the early hours of December 9, 2023 to investigate reports of a sexual assault.

They encountered the victim, identified in court documents only as Jane Doe, who reported that she had been attacked in a residence, providing specific details and a detailed description of her attacker.

Milbrandt said investigators soon identified Macon as the attacker.

Any connection to the victim was not disclosed.

The accused was arrested in India on December 20, 2023 without incident.

He had no documented criminal history in Riverside County.