Winchester Counselor Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Underage Patients; Pretrial Motions Begin

SAN JACINTO, CA — Pretrial motions are slated to get underway next week ahead of jury selection for the trial of a San Jacinto adolescent behavioral health treatment center employee accused of perpetrating sexual assaults on underage patients.

Antoine Christopher Sims, 32, of Winchester was arrested in September following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation that began in 2024.

Sims is charged with two counts each of lewd acts on a minor, sexual penetration with a foreign object and oral copulation of a minor, as well as one count of statutory rape.

During a status hearing Tuesday at the Banning Justice Center, Superior Court Judge Jorge Hernandez conferred with the prosecution and defense about scheduling, and both sides agreed to make preparations for the start of trial proceedings on Jan. 27.

The defendant is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail at the Robert Presley Jail.

According to sheriff's officials, in September 2024, deputies were informed that Sims allegedly had engaged in sexual acts involving several girls under his supervision, prompting an investigation.

The sheriff's department did not specify the defendant's position or the duration of his employment at the treatment facility, which wasn't named.

"Over the course of the investigation, detectives identified multiple victims and uncovered a pattern of predatory behavior, involving grooming, inappropriate communication and unlawful sexual contact," the agency stated.

The victims' identities were not disclosed.

Sufficient evidence was ultimately procured to obtain an arrest warrant, and Sims was located and taken into custody without incident on Bachelor Peak Street in Winchester last Sept. 18.

He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.