Man, 23, Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Groping 2 Girls Under 14
RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — A 23-year-old man was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for groping two girls, both under 14, at a Jurupa Valley store.
Brandon Alan Dimmitt pleaded guilty on April 12 to two counts of lewd acts on a child under 14-years-old.
The District Attorney dropped a third count of lewd acts on a minor after Dimmitt agreed to accept a plea deal.
Dimmitt could have faced more than 20 years in prison if he had been convicted by a jury on all charges.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Becky Dugan issued the sentence.
Sheriff's officials said deputies were called on March 29 to a retail outlet in the 8000 block of Limonite Avenue to investigate reports of a sexual assault.
The two alleged victims told a store manager that a man had groped them. Sheriff's Sgt. Bill Davis said Dimmitt was detained by store security until he fled.
Deputies arrived and spotted a man running east on Limonite Avenue, Davis said.
Officials said Dimmitt surrendered without a struggle. After they apprehended him, they believed he also matched the description of a man who molested another girl at the same location four days earlier.
Investigators obtained a positive I.D. for Dimmitt on the earlier attack after a brief investigation.
Dimmitt's arrest came less than a year after he was convicted of felony sexual battery for an assault on a child in the Riverside area.
He was initially charged with committing lewd acts on a minor in the same incident that occurred last May but struck a plea deal with the District Attorney's Office in that case as well.
He was sentenced to three years probation and a year in county jail under terms of the plea bargain although he did not complete the latter.
Authorities also say Dimmitt has a misdemeanor DUI conviction for which he was sentenced to three years probation in the fall of 2010.
(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
