Accused of raping and impregnating niece: Indian man has to stand trial

INDIO, Calif. – A 36-year-old Native American man must stand trial for allegedly sexually abusing his underage niece over several months, a judge ruled Thursday.

Miguel Pedrero Tzompantzi was held for accountability Thursday by Riverside County Judge Kristi E. Hester at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. According to the public prosecutor’s office, he faces eleven charges, including several alleged rapes of a minor between October 2022 and April 2023.

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The defendant was also charged with the crimes because he “took advantage of a position of trust” as an uncle, an aggravating factor cited in the Riverside County District Attorney’s complaint.

Indian police arrested Pedrero Tzompantzi in Indio in September 2023 and booked him into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, where he was held without bail.

A forensic interview with an alleged victim identified only as Jane Doe and her sister took place when Doe was seven months pregnant, the statement supporting the warrant said. Does’s exact age has not been released.

Doe said during the investigation that her uncle first pushed her to the ground in October 2022 and dragged her into a bedroom, leaving a scar on her elbow. She told an investigator that she was “frozen” during the first incident and didn’t know what to do, and that her uncle had told her that if she said anything, “he would deny it and blame her for everything.” “and that “no one wanted her,” and that’s why she lived with him,” the statement said.

After the first alleged rape, Doe testified that the sexual abuse continued for several months and that her uncle eventually impregnated her, although he subsequently gave her pills to prevent pregnancy.

She said she lived in fear that her uncle would do the same to her younger sister, who, according to the statement, would come home from school first.

The defendant spent approximately two months in Mexico and additional time in Phoenix before his arrest, the statement said. The statement also claims that Pedrero Tzompantzi called his wife to apologize for having sex with Doe when he was confronted about it. During the phone conversation, he claimed that he knew Doe was underage, but “it wasn’t all his fault,” and continued to tell her that he had only done it once.

Doe’s father confirmed that his daughter’s scar was caused by hitting the ground.

Pedrero Tzompantzi initially pleaded not guilty to all charges when he was arraigned last September.

An information procedure is to be initiated against him on June 5th before his currently unscheduled trial.