Man Accused Of Raping Child In Lake Elsinore And Temecula

A man allegedly raped and abused a girl in Lake Elsinore and Temecula for more than a decade and kept photographs of himself wearing her underwear, records recently released show.

Temecula resident Javier Cortez, 45, was arrested on suspicion of sodomy and lewd and lascivious behavior involving force with a person younger than 14, continual sexual abuse of a child younger than 4, forced oral copulation, driving without a license, speeding, failing to appear and misdemeanor indecent exposure, according to jail records.

The investigation began on Feb. 10, when the 13-year-old victim came forward to sheriff's investigators, according to a search warrant affidavit recently released to Temecula Patch.

She told a tale of sexual abuse that spans a decade, Deputy Karen Ferguson wrote in the affidavit.

Cortez forced the girl to touch his penis in a sexual way on a regular basis starting when she was 3 years old. The man also sodomized her when she was 9 years old and at other times fondled her breasts, the girl told Ferguson. Cortez also kept pictures of himself wearing the victim's underwear, according to Ferguson.

"The victim… while going through (Cortez's) cellular phone several months ago, she discovered a private picture folder containing several pictures of Cortez wearing her underwear and one picture of him wearing a skirt which belonged to her," Ferguson wrote.

The assaults allegedly happened at a house on Via Las Colinas in Temecula and in a home on Indian Spring Road in Lake Elsinore. Details on the relationship between Cortez, the victim and her family were withheld to protect the victim's identity.

Investigators served a search warrant in March and seized the suspect's cell phones. Forensic experts found the photos the victim described and confiscated them.

Cortez is being held in lieu of $150,000 bail, and he's expected to appear in court on May 18 to discuss his case with attorneys.