Prosecutor: CV Girl's Uncle Sexually Abused Her Like Household Slave For Months

INDIO, CA — An Indio girl whose uncle allegedly sexually abused her for months, culminating in an unwanted pregnancy, was "under his thumb," unable to defend herself throughout the ordeal, a prosecutor said Thursday, while the defense countered the sexual encounters were "consensual."

Miguel Pedrero Tzompantzi, 40, is charged with nine counts of forcible rape of a minor and one count each of sexual battery and annoying a child, with sentence-enhancing allegations of inflicting great bodily injury.

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Testimony in the roughly weeklong trial concluded Wednesday, and the prosecution and defense returned to the Larson Justice Center in Indio Thursday morning to deliver closing statements.

"This inexperienced child, who was at the will of an adult, was psychologically and physically abused for eight months," Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Stevenson told jurors. "She was under his thumb."

The prosecutor recalled how the then-16-year-old victim, identified in court records only as "P.T.," was entirely dependent on Tzompantzi for everything, having been sent to live with him, along with her siblings, while her parents, both Mexican nationals, remained in their country.

Stevenson quoted the victim's testimony, when the young woman told the court, head down in grief, "I was scared of him. I didn't know what to do."

The alleged abuse began in October 2022 with the defendant allegedly knocking P.T. to the floor, dragging her into his bedroom, holding her down and raping her, according to the prosecution. After that, there were further alleged instances of sexual assault, continuing until May 2023, by which time the victim was pregnant, Stevenson said.

Tzompantzi insisted that he and the then-teenager were in a relationship, according to testimony.

"His claims about this case from start to end are absolutely absurd," the prosecutor told the jury.

An Indio Police Department arrest warrant declaration filed in 2023 alleged the teen was threatened by her uncle, who told her that if she revealed what had been going on, "he would deny it and blame her for everything," additionally asserting "no one wanted her, and that is why she was living with him."

The allegations surfaced after P.T. was seven months pregnant and had told her parents about the alleged assaults.

Deputy Public Defender Stephen Sadocha told jurors "It was a consensual relationship that turned sexual."

"He was taking care of her — buying her food, taking her shopping," the attorney said.

He questioned the legitimacy of P.T.'s testimony and statements to law enforcement, noting there was one alleged instance when the victim initiated sexual contact with Tzompantzi in his car, parked outside a business.

"For eight months, there was no one suspicious about her behavior," Sadocha said. "Not one person reported (anything) suspicious, not a teacher or a counselor."

The attorney said there were "inconsistencies" in P.T.'s descriptions of what her uncle allegedly did, emphasizing the need for jurors to re-examine the circumstances before drawing any conclusions that could seal his client's fate.

Tzompantzi, who is being held without bail at the Benoit Detention Center, has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

If convicted, he faces life in prison.